The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has been singled out as one of two sites to benefit from the government’s gas to power programme.
Jeff Radebe, in his recent maiden budget speech as Minister of Energy, highlighted the importance of the energy mix to enable economic growth.
“No industrial power can exist without developing its energy apparatus, in general, and expanding its electrification program, in particular,” Radebe said.
He went on to announce that the CDC had been allocated a 1000MW gas to power plant valued in excess of R25 billion.
CDC’s Energy Sector Manager Sandisiwe Ncemane said the announcement was a testament to the Coega SEZ’s readiness for energy projects since the early 2000s and the “extensive work put in by the CDC over the years as well as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that’s drawing towards finalisation”.
“The reflection by the Minister on the importance of gas, and the prioritisation of natural gas, whether imported via regional pipelines or liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals which would integrate to indigenous natural sources, forms the basis of our gas approach,” Ncemane said,
He added that the CDC would continue to collaborate with the Eastern Cape Province and various state organs as well as private sector to advance Coega’s readiness for a natural gas economy.
The CDC recently marked the completion of the MM Engineering facility, a R350-million investment located in Zone 3 of the Coega SEZ. The MM Engineering plant, with a full production capacity of 3200 metal gas cylinders a day, will become an import substitute.