South Africa’s move towards Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is good news for the breakbulk sector.These geographic areas, in which the business environment differs from that of the rest of the economy, are growing locally with several of the developments speaking directly to breakbulk and project cargo – such as the Tshwane automotive SEZ (TASEZ).The first of its kind in South Africa and the largest automotive city in Africa, it was launched in 2019. Construction of the multi-billion rand project kicked off last year during the first outbreak of the coronavirus and is progressing well despite the ongoing global pandemic.Ford Motor Company has pledged its support and invested in the SEZ as part of its strategy to expand its manufacturing facility for the next-generation Ford Ranger Bakkie.The Saldana SEZ will serve as the primary oil, gas and marine repair engineering and logistics services complex in Africa, servicing the needs of the upstream oil exploration industry and production service companies operating in the oil and gas fields off sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the SEZs are being constructed to handle some project-type cargo as well as breakbulk.According to Dr Paulo Fernandez of Econogistics, SEZs have gained global relevance – and as a policy make sense for South Africa. “There is no reason why South Africa should not be looking at SEZs as a solution to promoting manufacturing, creating jobs and boosting the economy.”But, he said, the necessary infrastructure needed to be in place around an SEZ for it to be successful.“If we look at the SEZs that have been extremely successful in South Africa then it is clear that the supporting infrastructure is there,” he said, referring in particular to the Dube TradePort, Saldanha, Atlantis and Coega SEZs.“If one looks at TASEZ and the plan to significantly increase vehicle production for export, then it is clear that a rail solution has to be developed. It would simply not make sense to have car carriers running between Gauteng and the ports.”Fernandez said Transnet had already launched the tender for the design of a rail link between Gauteng and the Eastern Cape – and this was a step in the right direction.“We cannot just build an SEZ. It is not an island. All the surrounding infrastructure must be in place – road, rail, ports, water, electricity.”Just as important, he said, was the development of corridors around the SEZs as this would aid the logistics process significantly.In addition, an integrated government approach was critical to the success of any SEZ. “All the stakeholders and role-players – including all three tiers of government and the private sector – have to be aligned and working together. The institutional structures have to be there to make sure it works and delivers on the mandate.”And much like the name implies, SEZs need to be special, offering tenants a very different business environment.Considering there are more than 5000 SEZs globally, with 240 of these in Africa, these spaces need to offer real value.Development of corridors around SEZs is critical to successful logistics.– Dr Paulo Fernandez “
