The Western Cape’s bid to establish Atlantis as a hub for the green tech sector will be up for public participation shortly.
Rob Davies, Minister of Trade and Industry, confirmed that he had a received a recommendation from the Special Economic Zones Advisory Board to designate Atlantis as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Minister Davies will issue a gazette notifying the public of his intention to designate the Atlantis SEZ. The public and any interested party will have 30 days from the date of the gazette to support or object to this designation.
The application was submitted by Alan Winde, Minister of Economic Opportunities and the City of Cape Town.
Minister Winde said the proposed SEZ is the culmination of public sector and private sector support over several years.
“The SEZ will deliver an economic boost to Atlantis, and the Western Cape. Minister Davies has been encouraged by the fact that there is a further R1.8 billion in investment in the pipeline, and hundreds of jobs already created in the proposed SEZ.”
“We know that South Africa is the world’s fastest-growing green economy. And in partnership with GreenCape, we are establishing the province as the hub of this growth. The Western Cape is home to 60 percent of the country’s green project developers and two thirds of South Africa’s green manufacturing happens in this province. In order to take advantage of this growth and support a manufacturing economy, we applied for this national government policy instrument,” said Minister Winde.
Mike Mulcahy, the CEO of GreenCape, said: “This announcement reinforces South Africa's commitment to the Green Economy and manufacturing as an engine of job creation and growth.
“The cooperation and collaborative efforts of the project technical team, made up by the City, WCG, DTI and GreenCape, demonstrates SA's consensus support for the Green Economy. This is a big first step towards unlocking the full potential of a GreenTech focussed SEZ, but there remains a formidable amount of work to do.”
Bronwynne Jooste
Spokesperson: Alan Winde, Minister of Economic Opportunities
Responsible for Tourism, Economic Development and Agriculture
Western Cape Government
Physical Address: 142 Long Street, Cape Town
Tel: 021 483 3550
Cell: 060 970 4301
Email: bronwynne.jooste@westerncape.gov.za
Website: www.westerncape.gov.za
Twitter: bronwynnejooste