Cabinet has ratified a decision by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to designate the Maluti-A-Phofung (MAP) logistics hub, in Harrismith, in the Free State, an industrial development zone (IDZ), further approving the granting of operator permit for this zone to the Free State Development Corporation.

Addressing the media following a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said the designation would result in the establishment of a logistics-orientated platform 10 km outside of Harrismith, primarily to service the automotive, light manufacturing, agroprocessing, distribution and logistics sectors.

Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies told the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) last month that his department would continue to progressively scale-up interventions to support reindustrialisation and industrial development, chiefly through the “stepping-up” of the special economic zone (SEZ) and IDZ programmes.

The Harrismith hub had become part of a key nodal point of the Durban–Free State–Gauteng Corridor, which was identified in the 2005 National Freight Logistics Strategy approved by Cabinet.

According to the DTI, the MAP IDZ would become a multisector processing, manufacturing, engineering, logistics services, transport and logistics complex, serving the needs of the upstream value-adding, beneficiation, processing and production service companies operating across sectors and geographical areas in Southern Africa.

The zone would further look to provide efficient IDZ and customs-controlled area operations and processes that “facilitated timeous and cost-effective operations for international and domestic investors”.

Engineering News Online reported last month that estimated capital expenditure for the first phase of the development, which would involve the construction of utility services, perimeter fencing, gatehouses, roads and other infrastructure, was R168-million.

A further R149.2-million had been earmarked for the development of a general distribution centre, R153.7-million for the development of a vehicle distribution centre, R167.3-million for the construction of a food processing and fresh produce hub and R85-million for other construction projects within the zone.

The projected income over the 20-year project lifetime was R2.64-billion.