Atlantis SEZ has R3,5 billion in investment lined up in support of 800 jobs

STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND ASSET MANAGEMENT, ALDERMAN JAMES VOS

In the last six months, the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) has received applications for investments worth R3,5 billion, which will support 800 jobs when approved. 

Today, joined by the City’s Portfolio Committee on Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, I visited the ASEZ to understand the zone’s progress since its establishment as a company in April 2020. They have received applications for investments over the past six months in anticipation of the land transaction which has now been concluded with the City of Cape Town. This report will be going to the City’s next full Council, as the final step in the process.

The applications will go through a due diligence process, considered by the ASEZ Investment Committee and finally by the Board. The roll out of these projects are likely to transpire towards the end of the 2021/2022 financial year.

The ASEZ is the result of the collaboration between the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, the Western Cape Government’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the City of Cape Town.

The ASEZ is an important tool to unlock industrial development, manufacturing, employment technology, skills transfer and spatial restructuring, among other opportunities expressed in different strategic policies and plans of government.

I was particularly impressed with the Water Treatment and Waste Management training currently underway in Atlantis. Learners are being trained in specific skills for the green economy, which are critical in terms of a skilled future workforce as well as providing learners with career opportunities for the future. Specifically, in Cape Town’s water scarce context, these technical skills will make learners sought after in the job market.

These programmes form part of the ASEZ’s commitment to local skills development, ensuring citizens are equipped with suitable skills for the workforce needs of investors.

I then also visited Kaytech Engineered Fabrics, which manufactures geotextiles and geosynthetic solutions used by the civil engineering industry from locally sourced pre-and post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.

What was clear from my visit today, was that where there is a will, there is a way to attract significant investment that will create the jobs our economy needs to thrive. I look forward to the coming months when these projects get underway.