International airfreight capacity remains a challenge in KwaZulu-Natal. According to Hamish Erskine, CEO of Dube TradePort Corporation, capacity has been tight since the outbreak of Covid-19.“The international airfreight capacity in Durban has been recovering, but it has yet to reach pre-Covid-19 levels,” he said. “There have been conversations about Turkish Airlines resuming scheduled services, which would be a positive development and add much-needed capacity. Renewed connectivity to destinations like Namibia, Botswana and Mauritius would also increase capacity on both the cargo and passenger sides.”Erskine welcomed the return of Emirates; the airline has re-instituted its five f lights per week to Dubai. Qatar Airways has also returned to King Shaka International Airport with weekly f lights. He said the expansion of Airlink was a positive development, as was the return to the skies of South African Airways.“There are also great efforts under way to restore businesses that serviced the airline industry, such as food processing, which were negatively impacted by the Covid-19 lockdowns.”Asked about the recent f loods in Durban and the impact thereof on the TradePort, Erskine said it had led to a water crisis in the area. “This has had an impact on the water supply to our precinct. We have been working to supply water to our tenants and investors within the zone, ensuring that their operations are not adversely affected. We have sourced some of this water from our rainwater harvesting ponds in the Dube AgriZone.”According to Erskine, Dube TradePort is a secure and well-managed location with resilient infrastructure. This has afforded manufacturers and logistics providers the ability to continue operating during the disruptions experienced in Durban and surrounds over the past year. “Whilst the Durban port and the road infrastructure has an important role in moving raw materials and finished goods to market for the majority of products manufactured, goods that are of low weight and high value – like critical components for industrial use and fast fashion – have taken advantage of airfreight amidst these disruptions to the land and sea infrastructure.”Looking at Dube TradePort over the past 10 years, Erskine said the organisation had been able to implement several critical developments, including key infrastructure that had supported the establishment of a light industrial precinct, a commercial precinct, a logistics facility and an international cargo terminal facility, while attracting new private sector investment.“As we move forward, we will be building on our successes and applying the lessons learnt to respond to market demands. And we will continue to develop infrastructure that will be a catalyst for economic development. Dube has contributed massively to the economy of this province and continues to have a role to play going forward.” Erskine said that in future, Special Economic Zones in general would need to consider initiatives to work with smaller domestic businesses and help them grow and take advantage of the drive towards localisation.“On the other hand, there is a strong focus on moving towards self-sustainability to enable the organisation to continue to provide an enabling business environment for its tenants and investors in this evolving economic climate. To achieve this, we at Dube TradePort have mapped out a self-sustainability model,” he said.
