THE Port Elizabeth (PE) Cold Storage plant located in the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ), one of the very first exports orientated investors to locate their facility at the SEZ, is once again expanding its facility.
The investment worth R10 million is the second expansion within a space of two years following the R100 million investment by the company in 2017.
“We doubled our capacity of 7 500 pallets to around 15 000 pallets storage. The expansion complemented our… modern storage facility and accommodated greater volumes for the increasing citrus production in the Eastern Cape,” said Co-Director George Efstratiou.
The current project, set for completion this month, will see the company play a critical role in the refrigeration and short-term storage of citrus products before distribution to markets around the world. The new building will comprise of a new workshop, facilitate the servicing of forklifts and vehicles of the company.
“We are very excited with the project and the vast opportunities it brings for the company. Currently we have over 100 people employed at the PE Cold Storage facilities. As a result of the expansion, we have managed to create an additional five permanent jobs and a further 25 construction jobs.”
Highlighting the importance of locating in an enabling environment, Efstratiou said, “The Coega SEZ has been the ideal investment destination for our company. I would definitely encourage more investors to come and invest at Coega due to the clean and secure environment as well as the good services and facilities provided and being situated near the Port of Ngqura.”
These sentiments support a recent independent study conducted on the impact of the SEZ in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and Eastern Cape. Among its findings was that more than 80% of the companies that have invested in the Coega SEZ have seen an increase in their profits since starting operations in the zone. These include Coega Dairy and PE Cold Storage, among others with the benefits felt throughout the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro and the rest of the province, according to the research conducted by Muffin Consulting.
In addition, 85% of investors have increased their workforce, 62% have expanded their factories, and more than 90% described the Coega SEZ and its Logistics Park in Uitenhage as the ideal location for small and big industries. Private sector investment accounts for approximately 70% of the total investment value at Coega, with more than 78% of suppliers to those investors being local.