Media Statement: Dube TradeZone 2 earthworks well underway

Dube TradePort Corporation’s recent case in the Durban High Court demonstrates that the organisation continues to practice good governance and highlights its commitment to ensuring that it maintains robust procedures that are transparent and uphold the rule of law.

After two years of litigation, brought by Aqua Transport & Plant Hire against Dube TradePort and the successful bidder, the bulk earthworks preparing the ground for Dube TradeZone 2, which were at the centre of the dispute, are now well underway, with the successful contractor having already completed over 20% of the work program.

TradeZone 2 brings an additional 45 hectares of prime light industrial land to market within the Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone. The site will serve as the foundation of Dube TradePort’s next phase of investment attraction, which is projected at R 18 billion over the next 5 years.

With a work program that will run for the next 15 months, the project will see the movement of some 4 million cubic meters of earth for the platforming of the site. As an organization, we are delighted that despite the two-year delay that we have experienced as a direct result of this court case, we are back on track with our programs.  Therefore, we are in a position, where we can confidently say we are open for business, and we are ready to meet the expectations and investment appetite of our investors. 

The relationships we have developed over the years with local and international investors, some of whom have already chosen Dube TradePort as the location of their operations; are imperative to our sustained growth.

The cumulative employment opportunities created by Dube TradePort, when calculating the downstream and upstream value chain linkages – now totals 12 997 indirect jobs, added to the economy of KwaZulu-Natal.

Good governance has always been the cornerstone of the trust and goodwill we have built with all our stakeholders, which has helped us deliver returns in every other aspect of our organisation. To date, the organisation has been able to attract R 3, 2 billion in private sector investment.   

Issued on behalf of the Dube TradePort Corporation Board