A North-West and NWDC Bojanala SEZ delegation undertook a visit to Dube Tradeport Special Economic Zone (DTP-SEZ) in Kwa-Zulu Natal led by the Honorable MEC for DEDECT, Virginia Thlapi. The purpose of the visit was to engage with the DTP-SEZ team and to afford an opportunity to the North-West delegation to benchmark their experiences in preparation for the implementation of the Bojanala SEZ.

The Dube Tradeport SEZ is a greenfield development comprising of a number of development zones, namely the Dube Trade Zone, Dube Cargo Terminal close to King Shaka International Airport; Dube City and Dube Agrizone. The North West delegation was warmly received, and a presentation was made on the history of the development as well as the successes and challenges experienced to date. The zone can trace its history from 1968 when the land was appropriated for the development of the new airport, with the feasibility studies for the actual site commissioned in 2005, the official opening was in 2012, and the launch of the site as a SEZ in 2016. The presentation was subsequently followed by a site tour of all the development zones and we were afforded an opportunity to interact with both the Dube Tradeport staff that provide support to the investors in the zone and also interacted with the investors / current tenants to learn about their experiences of the location.

At the Dube Agrozone, the delegation interacted with a leading fresh produce supplier to Shoprite Checkers, FreshHarvest where a presentation was made on-site, followed by a tour of the facilities. The facility is benchmarked against the world’s leaders in greenhouse technology and includes dedicated post-harvest packhouses, a central packing and distribution centre; a nursey lab and Dube Agrilab, a plant tissue culture laboratory.

The second visit was made to Conlog, a leading manufacturer of smart meters for municipality utilities. During the tour, the delegation was exposed to the manufacturing cycle from how the equipment is assembled and the technologies installed to allow the municipalities to distribute both electricity and water for residents. It was such an eye-opener to understand how each municipality determines what its smart meters should do for its residents, even the possibilities of municipalities regulating the services by remotely switching on and off of home installations in terms of future technologies.

The trip was a huge success in terms of the planning for the proposed Bojanala SEZ, including an approach to potentially incorporate Pilanesberg International Airport in the future. A task team will be established going forward to collaborate and learn from each other including the CFOs Task Team of both DEDECT, NWDC and Dube Tradeport to engage on matters of mutual interest.

The North West delegation consisted of MEC Thlape, DEDECT AHOD, NWDC Chairperson of the Board, Mr Kopano Konopi, NWDC ACEO, Mr Kabelo Mafokwane and the Bojanala SEZ Project Manager, Mr Davis Sadike as well as the DEDECT support team.

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