East London Industrial Development Zone has successfully transformed itself into a fully operational entity. Since the gates first opened to investors 18 months ago, most of the investment in the IDZ has taken place in the automotive cluster, a traditionally important sector in the economy of the city and of the province.

With proven infrastructure and services now in place, the IDZ – which has a mandate to explore a number of sectors in order to promote the diversity and competitiveness of South African industries – will expand to set up agro-industrial and information and communications technology clusters, according to East London IDZ CEO Simphiwe Kondlo.

In an interview with TradeInvestSA to be published in the November issue of the newsletter, Kondlo said there was much value to be generated for local agri-processing and ICT. In the next phase of its operation, the IDZ will be positioned as a platform for the processing and beneficiation of local agricultural products for export to overseas markets.

Kondlo said he also saw a lot of scope for growth in the local ICT economy as there were a number of education institutions situated in close proximity to the IDZ and there were thus opportunities to build on skills and knowledge. Business processing outsourcing, a sector recently incentivised by the South African government, in particular is seen as a growth sector.

Total investments in the IDZ currently amount to about R750-million. Kondlo is confident that this total will surmount R1-billion by the end of the financial year; total expected investment over the first 12 years of the IDZ is set to reach R10-billion.