{"id":44618,"date":"2026-01-10T13:53:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T13:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalafricanetwork.com\/?p=44618"},"modified":"2026-03-02T14:52:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T14:52:00","slug":"special-economic-zones-catalysing-investment-creating-jobs-and-strengthening-export-competitiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalafricanetwork.com\/company-news\/special-economic-zones-catalysing-investment-creating-jobs-and-strengthening-export-competitiveness\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Special Economic Zones will strengthen South Africa’s export competitiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"

2<\/span>3 May 2024 was a red-letter day for economic development in the Northern Cape Province. The approval by national cabinet of the application for the Namakwa Special Economic Zone to be officially designated<\/a> as such was welcomed by the Premier of the Northern Cape, Dr Zamani Saul, as a signal of \u201cthe dawn of a new era of industrial and economic prosperity\u201d.<\/p>\n

Not only will the Namakwa SEZ<\/a> (NAMSEZ) help to unlock the province\u2019s economic potential, said Dr Saul, but it would be \u201cthe cornerstone of the Northern Cape Industrial Corridor\u201d. The Industrial Corridor is an ambitious plan to link the province\u2019s huge mineral resources near Kathu (iron ore) and Hotazel (manganese) with new port facilities and a green-hydrogen plant at Boegoebaai in the west.<\/p>\n

The corridor follows the path of the N14 highway and include smelters and other beneficiation facilities within SEZs and industrial parks along an east-west axis. Plans to establish industrial parks at Kathu<\/a> and Upington<\/a> are well advanced to support the spatial thinking which underpins the Industrial Corridor strategy.<\/p>\n

The NAMSEZ, with significant first investments being made by \u201canchor investments\u201d from Vedanta Zinc International and Frontier Rare Earths, would, according to the Premier, \u201cenable us to harness our mining throughput, facilitating both upstream and downstream integration and creating a robust, diversified economic ecosystem\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Vedanta Zinc International will be the core tenant of the Namakwa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the town of Aggeneys. Photo: Vedanta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The designation of the NAMSEZ marks the 12th such approval by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), the implementing agent of South Africa\u2019s SEZ programme. Of the 12, nine of the SEZs are operational, with one SEZ each in Limpopo and Mpumalanga sharing with NAMSEZ the status of being officially designated but not yet functioning.<\/p>\n

The Coega SEZ in the Eastern Cape, regarded as one of the country\u2019s more successful SEZs, has applied to expand its footprint in order to build a vaccine and pharmaceutical zone.<\/p>\n

A further four proposals are being considered from four provinces, including from the North West which is currently the only province that does not have a designated SEZ. The Bojanala SEZ would have a focus on the platinum-mining industry and associated beneficiation, manufacturing and services.<\/p>\n

Programme goals<\/h3>\n

The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Programme<\/strong> aims to bolster export-led growth, increase investment into the country and create new jobs. There are five ways through which these goals are achieved:<\/p>\n