The Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ) was awarded the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Investment of the Year award at the second International Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Infrastructure and Investment Conference, hosted in KwaZulu-Natal, from July 16 to 17.

The conference was hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), under the leadership of Minister Parks Tau, in partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs.

The RBIDZ emerged as one of the evening's top achievers after being named SEZ Investment of the Year, an award that recognises an SEZ with a significant investor whose operations within the zone have contributed meaningfully to industrial growth, employment creation, investment expansion, localisation and community value creation.

The RBIDZ says this award affirms its growing contribution to South Africa's industrialisation agenda and recognises the impact of investments being facilitated within the zone.

RBIDZ CEO Thabane Zulu said the recognition came at a significant time for the RBIDZ as it continued to build and convert a robust investment pipeline valued at about R248-billion, comprising 24 potential investment projects across strategic sectors of the economy.

He said this pipeline demonstrated growing investor confidence in the zone and positioned the RBIDZ as a major catalyst for industrialisation, infrastructure development and economic transformation in KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa.

Speaking to Engineering News, Zulu said the award validated the RBIDZ’s long-term vision and commitment to translating a pipeline of investments into practical execution, aiming to create jobs and contribute to GDP.

He also highlighted the importance of beneficiation in enabling job creation in South Africa.

“As the RBIDZ, we view industrialisation as a cornerstone for our economic development sustainability and this is what makes us tick all the right boxes as per our establishment.”

PROJECTS

Reflecting on the past six months, Zulu highlighted some of the SEZ’s achievements, noting that the organisation had been performing well and had been active in strengthening its investments.

He noted that the RBIDZ was trying to develop a stronger strategy on the acquisition of land parcels to increase the SEZ’s capacity for new investments.

“This is a reflection that the potential for more investments to come is huge and we need to be ready for that. Part of being ready is to make sure that we have a very good strategy at our disposal for the acquisition of land, for the purpose of growing our investment value and also to grow our economy.”

He cited Nyanza Light Metals as one of the SEZ’s standout achievements. Nyanza Light Metals is a manufacturer of titanium dioxide pigment and other chemicals.

Zulu explained that the RBIDZ was busy with the piling work at Nyanza Light Metals, which was a major construction element of the R15-billion project to produce titanium dioxide.

He explained that the piling works began in June and were expected to run for 12 months and finish in 2027. Thereafter, the RBIDZ would focus on the construction of the main plant, which would run for a duration of 36 months.

Additionally, Zulu discussed the RBIDZ's role as an energy hub, with seven energy-related projects identified, including a State-owned Eskom gas-to-power project valued at about R74-billion.

Zulu outlined the goals for RBIDZ moving forward, including translating the pipeline investment into practical implementation and focusing on skills development for the local workforce.