Investment opportunities in the recently approved Namakwa Special Economic Zone

South Africa’s National Cabinet has approved the designation of the Namakwa SEZ in Aggeneys in the Northern Cape. The proposed designation is done in terms of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2014 (Act 16 of 2014) and the proposed SEZ is part of the Presidential Investment Drive.

The Namakwa SEZ will unlock mining beneficiation, production of green hydrogen, infrastructure development, renewable energy and agro-processing.

More than R29-billion in investments has already been committed for phase one of the SEZ. These include commitments from Vedanta Zinc (R16-billion), Frontier Rare Earth (R13-billion), Hive Energy (R200-million) and RRS Trade and Investment (R100-million).
MISSION

Create an industrial hub for the West Coast and a catalyst for industrialising the western SADC area.

Project Location

Aggeneys is 66 km from Pofadder and 110 km from Springbok in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.

Extent

Overall view of Vedanta Zinc International’s Gamsberg project in the Northern Cape, one of the anchor investors of the Namakwa SEZ.

Economic Impact

• Operations will add R1.1-billion to state tax revenue annually
• Opex will add R5.8-billion to national GDP annually
• Capex will add R6.7-billion in one-off value to GDP
• Capex will add R1.6-billion in one-off value to tax revenue

Value Proposition

The value proposition of the Namakwa SEZ is based on the existence of the Gamsberg Zinc Mine and the proposed building of a smelter by Vedanta Zinc International. These would be the anchor tenants of the SEZ.

It is proposed that a smelter be built to treat zinc concentrate produced at Gamsberg. The zinc concentrate produced at the existing concentrator plant will be treated in the smelter using the conventional roast-leach-electrowinning (R-L-E) process.

Targeted Sectors

Mining

• • Zinc, granite, copper, rare earths, rare quartz, slate

Mineral processing

• • Zinc processing plant, zinc smelter, copper processing plant

Petro-chemical

• • Sulphuric acid, fertiliser, paint, hydrogen production, explosives

Manufacturing

• • Super alloys, batteries, galvanising steel

Transport

• • Mining and agricultural, regional and depots

Engineering and suppliers

• • Renewable energy, transport, construction

Pharmaceuticals

Localisation and supplier development

• • Incubator, skills development

Jobs

During construction, 9 500 jobs will be created with about 3 250 permanent jobs once the zone is fully operational.

Contact Namakwa SEZ

Interested parties are encouraged to contact the Namakwa SEZ team:

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