Building projects in the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) have injected over R1.2bn into the Nelson Mandela Bay construction industry over the past two quarters.
Coega IDZ says six major construction projects were currently underway in the Coega IDZ, including the erection of a Chinese car and truck manufacturer First Automobile Works’ (FAW) plant, the Famous Brands’ cold storage plant, the DCD Group’s wind tower manufacturing plant and the addition of Coega Cheese onto the Coega Dairy outfit, among others.
A snapshot of the inside of the Agni Steels plant in Zone 11 of the Coega Industrial Development Zone.
Below: other building projects on the go at Coega…
Industrial gas company, Air Products South Africa, is also about to begin construction of its R300-million state-of-the-art air separation unit in Zone 3 in July, bringing the total number of projects being built to seven.
The Coega IDZ, located close to the bustling Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, is South Africa’s foremost investment hotspot for industries with a global perspective.
“The global economic climate is still not stable, yet investment continues to flow into the Coega IDZ and is literally taking root in the construction projects underway,” says Ayanda Vilakazi, Coega Development Corporation (CDC) head of marketing and communications.
Vilakazi says Coega IDZ currently had 20 operational investors, and once all seven construction projects were complete, the area will be up to 27 operational investors by mid-2014.
The Famous Brands project, he says, is nearing completion and the company was given access to the warehouse portion in the first week of May allowing its service provider to start with racking on the warehouse floor. The warehouse is operational and Famous Brands will move its stock into the cold storage unit on June 10.
“Everything is on track, with timeframes tight but on target to be met. The project is still well within original time, cost and quality parameters set – despite loss of a number of days due to inclement weather, mainly wind and rain,” says Bruno Ponzi, CDC senior project manager for infrastructure development.
The company – which owns the likes of Steers and Debonairs – was also given access to the ground floor of the office block portion this week, with the balance of the building due for hand over on June 21. Once delivered Famous Brands would become the newest operational tenant in the Coega IDZ.
Vilakazi says Famous Brands was a prime example of the short conversion times investors experience from the point of signing a lease with the CDC to full operation.
“The turnaround times are much quicker now than they were a couple of years ago and we are able to construct buildings for investors relatively quickly, meaning that they move to operational phase within about a year of signing, depending on this size of the project,” says Vilakazi.
Other major construction projects currently underway in the Coega IDZ include erection of:
- Chinese car and truck manufacturer First Automobile Works’ (FAW) plant;
- DCD Group’s wind tower manufacturing plant;
- the addition of Coega Cheese onto the Coega Dairy outfit;
- Agni Steels’ R400-million smelter facility; and
- Rehau’s extension in the Nelson Mandela Bay Logistics Park (NMBLP).
According to Arnie van Jaarsveldt, WBHO Construction Eastern Cape managing director and lead contractor on the FAW project, the highlight of the construction will be its architectural finesse. Van Jaarsveldt says Eastern Cape Architects Studio d’Arc wanted to make a statement with the Chinese automotive giants’ building in Zone 2 of the IDZ.
“Its prime position on the N2 means it will get heightened attention. FAW management loved Studio d’Arc’s unique design on the office and reception area – particularly the exceptional use of concrete, so that’s set to be the highlight of the building,” says van Jaarsveldt.
“Otherwise, we are working hard to keep to a strict timetable, and you will see the columns almost completed and some initial top structures going up over the factory portion. With a long way to go, the skeleton is definitely taking shape.”
Van Jaarsveldt says construction is on-track for completion end December 2013, adding that there was significant collaboration between the Chinese engineers and their South African counterparts – a coup for skills development and mentorship.
“The global economic climate is still not stable, yet investment continues to flow into the Coega IDZ and is literally taking root in the construction projects underway,” says Vilakazi, Coega Development Corporation (CDC) head of marketing and communications. “We currently have 20 operational investors, and once these seven construction projects are complete, we will be up to 27 operational investors by mid-2014.”
Vilakazi maintains the activity meant major spinoffs not only for lead contractors, but also sub-contractors, suppliers and the whole built environment supply chain: “At a time when there is industry malaise at a national level, the Coega IDZ is experiencing a construction boom to the value of R1.2-billion.
“The unaudited results 2012/13 financial year also show that construction jobs in the Coega, IDZ and the NMBLP for April 2012 to March 2013 amount to 1722 and investor jobs created are at about 856 – so just over 2500 jobs created directly through activity in the Coega IDZ,” says Vilakazi, adding that it was through these major investments that the CDC was delivering on its mandate to create jobs.
In addition, the construction activity is creating needed jobs on the city, particularly on the FAW site, with the R200-million FAW construction project well underway.
To date about 304 construction jobs have been created on its site, a number that grows week to week. In total the construction phase will see about 2000 jobs generated over the year-long duration. In the operation phase of the truck assembling plant, a further 280 jobs will also be created.
(edited)
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