The site set to house the first new car manufacturing facility in South Africa in 40 years is ready for construction, the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) said on Monday.
CDC has cleared some 54 ha of land in Zone 1 of the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ), near Port Elizabeth, for Chinese vehicle manufacturer Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) and South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation to build the R11-billion joint venture automotive manufacturing plant.
Construction of the more than 85 000 m2 plant, which CDC unit head marketing and communications Dr Ayanda Vilakazi noted was planned to start “in earnest” late this year or early next year, is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2018.
At full capacity, the plant will be able to produce 100 000 vehicles a year by 2027, with the first phase, worth R4.25-billion, establishing an installed capacity of 50 000 units a year by 2022.
The clearing activities have benefited six Eastern Cape-based small, medium-sized and microenterprises, with work valued at an aggregate R3-million completed on time and within budget.