Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has finally signed its first investor for the Port Elizabeth-based harbour project, the company said here on Wednesday.

Belgian-owned Sander International Textiles has signed a 20-year lease with Coega. The investment with Coega is worth R200m, said Vuyelwa Qinga-Vika, spokesperson for CDC.

Sander International RSA will occupy 10ha of the 40ha allocated for the textile cluster.

The CDC had been unsuccessful in their attempts to get investors to commit to the project in the past.

Signing with the project's first big possible investor, French company Pechiney, was stalled when the company was embroiled in a take-over with Canada's Alcan last year.

After successfully acquiring Pechiney, Alcan stalled signing with Coega for six months and has not committed itself to date.

Alcan's mooted investment into Coega was estimated at about R13bn.

Coega claimed that the project could move on without a major investor and in September last year said it was negotiating with various smaller investors.

But the company's chief executive, Pepi Silinga, admitted in the company's annual results last year that it had not done as well as hoped in getting investors to sign on the dotted line.

"Four years after ditching the strategy of seeking to attract an 'anchor tenant' for Coega, the CDC has been vindicated in opting to secure a basket of investments in various sectors of industries with different financial values," said Qinga-Vika.

Work on the plant is well underway, she said. Already an access road is in place and construction to the textile zone include a weaving mill and a dyeing and yarn facility.

"Sander will produce a specialised high end niche product - fire retardant fabrics - for the automotive and transport industries including ocean liners, aircraft as well as catering for the hospitality industries," she said.

Products produced at the plant would be exported to North American markets, taking advantage of the AGOA trade agreement with the United States.

More than 500 permanent jobs would be created with the project.

Latest AGOA Trade Data currently available on AGOA.info


Click here to view a sector profile of South Africa’s bilateral trade with the United States, disaggregated by total exports and imports, AGOA exports and GSP exports.

Other regularly updated trade statistics on AGOA.info include: (click each link to view)