President Cyril Ramaphosa will today conduct an oversight visit of the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) to assess its progress.
This after Ramphosa unveiled the project, billed as Africa’s first automotive city, in November 2019.
The TASEZ is designed to help SA’s automotive sector better respond to the demands of the fourth industrial revolution and compete with global players.
In September, it was revealed that groundwork and infrastructure installation on the multibillion-rand project had commenced.
The automotive city is developed through a joint partnership with Ford Motor Company South Africa, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), and Gauteng Provincial Government and City of Tshwane.
It is an expansion of the OR Tambo International Airport Special Economic Zone.
According to the Presidency, Ramaphosa will be accompanied by DTIC minister Ebrahim Patel; Gauteng premier David Makhura; MEC of economic development, agriculture and environment Parks Tau; City of Tshwane executive mayor Randall Williams; and the leadership of Ford Motor Company SA.
“The TASEZ fulfils the District Development Model objective of co-ordinated development and economic opportunities in local areas. It also focuses on attracting foreign direct investment and growing exports of value-added commodities.
“In line with the South African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan’s priorities of accelerating economic reforms, reindustrialising the economy and creating jobs through aggressive infrastructure investment, industrial parks and Special Economic Zones are rebuilding the country’s manufacturing capacity,” notes the Presidency.
The South African government sees the Special Economic Zones as a way to boost job creation and investment into specific industries.
The automotive sector has attracted close to R23 billion through the Automotive Master Development Plan 2035, which influences the industrialisation effort in other sectors to improve productivity, investment and competitiveness. It also promotes localisation, particularly the development of small, medium and micro enterprises.
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