Question NW545 to the Minister of Trade and Industry [Interdepartmentally transferred from Economic Development with effect]

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20 March 2019 - NW545

Profile picture: Khubisa, Mr NM

Khubisa, Mr NM to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry [Interdepartmentally transferred from Economic Development with effect]

(1) What number of (a) direct and (b) indirect jobs were created as a result of the investment at the (i) Dube Trade Port and (ii) Durban Harbour. (2) Whether small, medium and micro-sized enterprises owned by women and youth benefitted from the investment; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW667E

Reply:

In terms of direct jobs, Dube TradePort (DTP) SEZ has to date created a total of 3246 direct jobs. During Financial year 2017/18 alone, 429 new direct jobs and 974 construction jobs were created. During the current financial year 2018/19, as at 18 March 2019, 184 new direct jobs and a total of 2020 construction jobs have been created. In addition, more than 250 new direct jobs are expected to be created during 2019 by a newly signed investor that is expected to operate by April 2019.

Based on the Economic-wide impact study conducted by DTP, a total of 130009 were created in KwaZulu-Natal as results of investments made at DTP.

The Small, Medium and Micro-Sized Enterprises (SMME) empowerment, integration and development is one of the key pillars of the SEZ programme. Dube TradePort is one of the SEZs that have successfully been and continue to support SMMEs, particularly with regards to infrastructure development, provision of services and manufacturing.

During 2016/17 financial year, approximately 40 % of the DTP’s spend on infrastructure was paid to SMMEs. During financial year 2017/18, 67.3% of the total expenditure on suppliers was on black owned businesses. The current financial year, as at 18 March 2019, the infrastructure spend committed to SMME was R157.4 million.

In addition, DTP is currently constructing 18 mini factories within the zone, and they are at 88% complete. These mini factories will serve as a platform to house strategic SMMEs looking for manufacturing or office space. The size of each mini factory is around 249 m². To date DTP has spent R9.3 million on infrastructure development and R1.7 million on SMMEs creating 264 addition construction jobs through this project.

 

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