'Time for Coega to deliver on promises'

AS THE concept of Coega moves closer to reality,
companies that have already put down roots in the
region are well placed to reap the rewards.
Among these are forwarding major ZA Trans which
established a branch in Port Elizabeth four years ago.
“We handle the work of a major automotive
supplier in the area and have been able to use this as
a lever to obtain other business in this exciting area,”
chief international forwarding officer Paul Lawrence
told FTW.
But the company is intent on expanding its
presence beyond this specialist niche.
“We’ll look at general freight and will also
be targeting a lot of second tier suppliers to the
automotive industry,” says Lawrence.
Chief operating officer Philip Wyllie believes the
whole region reflects the optimism of all the industrial
change taking place
“It’s attracting huge foreign investment and there
are moves to reprioritise PE port in the context of
Coega.
“We see it as an exciting area. Unlike a number
of our competitors we’re there and positioned for
growth.
“There are two elements to Coega - the port itself
and the IDZ – and they’re not necessarily linked.
“Coega is likely to be a massive transhipment
port because the other ports won’t be able to handle
the expected volumes. But from a freight forwarding
perspective the industrial belt is of interest and we’re
keen to take advantage of the opportunities presented
by this.”