Name of the Project
Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ).

Location
The SEZ will be located adjacent to the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) plant, in Silverton, Tshwane, in Gauteng, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
The SEZ is a public–private partnership between the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), the Gauteng provincial government and the City of Tshwane, in partnership with original-equipment manufacturer FMCSA.

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC), developer and operator of the Coega SEZ, in the Eastern Cape, has been appointed as the implementing agent to develop and operate the TASEZ.

Project Description
The TASEZ is an automotive components supplier industrial park that will play a significant role in bolstering further investment and job creation in the local economy. It will also be instrumental in allowing for the future expansion of Ford’s local operations, in which it plans to invest more than $1-billion.

The TASEZ will cover 204 ha and is driven by automotive manufacturing and suppliers of various vehicle components.

The project will be completed in phases. The first phase accommodates nine suppliers, with later phases to include residential and retail components.

Potential Job Creation
Of the total R1.85-billion spent to date, about R356-million has been spent on procurement from small-, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMME), with a further R639-million worth of contracts having been awarded and R25-million spent on training and skills development of SMME operators.

To date, 3 042 jobs have been created across five factories within the TASEZ since its launch by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019, with more to come as construction is completed and existing operations ramp up.

Capital Expenditure
The project is a R3.4-billion investment between government and FMCSA.

Government, comprising the DTIC, the City of Tshwane and the Gauteng provincial government, has spent R1.85-billion on the TASEZ’s development to date, while R1.3-billion has been invested by the private sector.

Planned Start/End Date
The project was launched by Ramaphosa in November 2019.

The first phase of construction is expected to be completed in March 2022.

Latest Developments
In the lead-up to next year’s launch of the next-generation Ford Ranger, Ford South Africa hosted a high-level delegation on November 20 for an oversight visit at its Silverton assembly plant and the adjacent TASEZ.

The visit followed the announcement in February 2021 of Ford Motor Company’s $1.05-billion investment in its Pretoria plant and supplier facilities to modernise its local operations and expand installed production capacity to 200 000 vehicles a year.

“We truly appreciate and value our partnership with national, provincial and local government, which helped make this investment possible. It is impacting [on] communities with 1 200 incremental new jobs at Ford, and an additional 10 000 jobs in the total value chain. So, it is changing lives for South Africans, not just in the years ahead, but for decades to come,” Ford International Markets Group (IMG) president Dianne Craig said.

“It is amazing to see how much has been achieved within the Ford Silverton assembly plant and the TASEZ in such a short period,” Ford IMG operations director Andrea Cavallaro noted during the visit.

“I would also like to commend Simphiwe Hamilton and his TASEZ team, who have pulled out all the stops to deliver on the targets, despite the immense challenges posed by Covid-19,” Cavallaro said.

“In February last year the TASEZ site was an open field, and now we have two suppliers already manufacturing parts and delivering them directly to the Silverton assembly line, with several others soon to follow.”

Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister Fikile Majola noted that Ford’s decision to invest in South Africa was “very important” to government, as it supported thousands of jobs in the local communities. 

“Our partnership with Ford in the TASEZ is one of our great success stories, as it serves as an example of what government working with the private sector can do. 

“It is now up to government to meet Ford’s deadline when they reach full production to be able to move the vehicles efficiently to the ports via the rail corridors so that we can export these vehicles around the world,” he elaborated.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Moago Construction (short-term contract – bulk earthworks).

Contact Details for Project Information
FMCSA GM communications Minesh Bhagaloo, tel +27 12 842 2691 or email mbhagalo@ford.com.