ROOFTOP<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Coega SEZ is home to the largest green hydrogen investment of its kind by Hive Hydrogen. The project aims to contribute substantively to energy decarbonisation, with an annual production of +\/-900 000 tons of green ammonia providing clean energy for diverse applications, with green hydrogen and ammonia particularly for the decarbonisation of heavy industries and transportation industries.<\/p>\n
The signing of the memorandum of cooperation between Hive Hydrogen and Itochu Corporation of Japan, in December 2023, marked a pivotal step in identifying key areas for collaboration, including project financing and off-take for green ammonia.<\/p>\n
In partnership with Hive Hydrogen as an investor, Coega is dedicated to exploring and implementing innovative solutions to deliver the project as per targeted timeframes, and contributing to building a greener, more sustainable future for South Africa.<\/p>\n
The Coega SEZ\u2019s incentives assist in ensuring that business is established in a customs controlled environment to produce inputs in the green hydrogen production value chain.<\/p>\n
In terms of its SEZ Energy Strategy, Coega is implementing the Coega Solar Rooftop Project (CSRP). The CSRP is accelerating Coega\u2019s vision of greening its SEZ and Nelson Mandela Bay Logistics Park (NMBLP) buildings. The initial phase will see the implementation of 4.5MW PV systems on rooftops in five buildings of the Coega SEZ and NMBLP.<\/p>\n
The first building, the Coega Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Park, has been fitted and commissioned, while the roof assessments and designs have been approved for the remaining four buildings.<\/p>\n
COEGA AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT ZONE<\/strong><\/p>\nAnother milestone for Coega is the development of the Aquaculture Development Zone (ADZ) in Zone 10 of the Coega SEZ. Coega received R206m funding support by the Department of Economic Development, Environment Affairs and Tourism to establish enabling infrastructure (i.e., roads, electrical, potable and storm water infrastructure, etc.) in the SEZ\u2019s ADZ following environmental authorisation.<\/p>\n
The infrastructure has created an investment ready platform for aquaculture investors, including abalone and finfish farms. The development is in line with the province\u2019s focus on the Oceans Economy Master Plan. The infrastructure development investment by the province created 500 construction jobs and 900 operational jobs.<\/p>\n
COEGA SEZ WATER PROJECTS<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Coega SEZ is recognised by existing and prospective investors for its plug and play infrastructure and its focus on sustainable development. The SEZ recently benefited from a R1.8 bn budget allocation for the Coega Return Effluent (RE) Scheme, an innovative water sustainability initiative.<\/p>\n
The construction of the RE Scheme includes infrastructure upgrades in Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Coega SEZ for wastewater conveyance within, and the construction of a pipeline to convey treated effluent or industrial-quality water from the Fishwater Flats Wastewater Treatment Works to the Coega SEZ.<\/p>\n
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT<\/strong><\/p>\nCoega remains the only SEZ developer in Africa that has devoted resources to the pursuit of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers. The Coega Maths and Science Programme is one of Coega\u2019s catalytic Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Programmes, which was established to help matriculants improve their Mathematics and Physical Science results at no cost to learners. The Programme achieved a remarkable 100% pass rate in 2023, following a 100% pass rate in 2022.<\/p>\n
The latest Coega SEZ Survey Report published by Statistics South Africa in April 2024, reflected increase in the employment of youth across the SEZ. During the 2023\/24 FY, Coega realised positive performance for the number of people trained. A total of 4 374 people were trained, improving their employability and entrepreneurial potential.<\/p>\n
Further to this, Coega was also awarded a B-BBEE Level 1 Certificate, underscoring its strong commitment to transformation and empowerment within the South African business landscape. This certification highlights Coega’s ongoing efforts to drive meaningful change in line with the country’s economic empowerment objectives.<\/p>\n
SMME DEVELOPMENT ACHIEVEMENT<\/strong><\/p>\nBased on Coega\u2019s diversification strategy, as an Implementing Agent of Choice in South Africa, Coega has a compulsory corporate target of 33% SMME involvement in all infrastructure projects. To date, Coega has enriched communities and economies through R48.3bn in infrastructure development in South Africa.<\/p>\n
Coega\u2019s dedicated SMME Development Programme achieved a total SMME procurement spend of over R1,0bn for 2023\/24 FY, which equates to 69.42% of the total spend for the year. Over R500m was spent on black men-owned SMMEs, R364,5m was spent on black women-owned SMMEs, and over R97,9m was spent on black youth-owned SMMEs.<\/p>\n
As part of its diversification strategy to generate alternative sources of revenue for sustainability, Coega\u2019s Non-SEZ programme continued to perform well. For innovation and continuous improvement, Coega has continued its proactive development of new markets for growth and sustainability in the continent, as part of the Coega non-SEZ Programme. The Coega Africa Programme (CAP), which is in line with the AfCFTA programme to promote growth, development, and economic integration of the African continent, continues to seek new markets in the continent.<\/p>\n
The growth of Coega\u2019s Non-SEZ Programme has continued to surpass all expectations, exceeding an annual target of R3,5bn and achieving R15,5bn in terms of the infrastructure projects order book, mainly from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, Eastern Cape Department of Health, the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) and the Tshwane Automotive SEZ (TASEZ). This was achieved despite the challenges of infrastructure project delays and budget cuts. Coega\u2019s programme has played an important role in deepening state capacity to deliver multibillion-rand infrastructure programmes, as part of the South African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, South Africa\u2019s National Infrastructure Plan 2050, and National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, Coega\u2019s strategic approach to development will continue to have a positive effect on the socio-economic development of the region and beyond. The organisation has noted the need for stakeholder collaboration in the provinces where it operates, particularly between various role players in the automotive sector, such as the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) Eastern Cape and Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) to attract new Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), especially OEMs that are producing electric vehicles (NEVs).<\/p>\n
Supported by government and bolstered by a well-established brand, the Coega SEZ offers a combination of favourable investment conditions, strategic location, and supportive infrastructure, making it an attractive destination for foreign direct investment.<\/p>\n
By leveraging the Eastern Cape\u2019s economic strengths in terms of automotive sector concentration, manufacturing, agriculture, and the absorption of local labour, Coega\u2019s investments impact entire value chains and have significant implications for economic growth and job creation in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Coega Development Corporation (Coega) has once again showcased its unwavering commitment to socio-economic development, as it reflects on a few of its achievements in the 2023\/24 Financial Year. \u201cAs the developer and operator of Africa\u2019s leading Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Coega is pleased to announce a total of 60 operational Coega SEZ investors, [up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[540],"tags":[546],"class_list":["post-5773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business-news","tag-coega","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5773"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5774,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5773\/revisions\/5774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}