Media Releases

Saldanha Bay as a hydrogen fuel export hub – Media Release - 19/04/2022

Media release on Why Saldanha Bay is a potential hydrogen fuel export hub.

Global demand for hydrogen fuel is growing and several reports identified Saldanha Bay as a potential hydrogen export hub.

Excerpt from the media release. **More than 75 people logged into the 2nd Energy Transition Webinar on 12 April hosted by the Saldanha Bay Innovation Campus (SB-IC) to hear a panel of experts talk about the future of hydrogen fuel. The keynote speaker was Thomas Roos from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), one of the authors of the report Powerfuels and Green Hydrogen, prepared under the auspices of the EU-South Africa (EU-SA) Partners for Growth programme. Roos said the Saldanha Bay region had excellent solar and wind resources that had the potential for large renewable energy electricity at competitive costs.

“Electricity is a contested space in South Africa,” said Roos. “This potential far exceeds local demand, and export potential is limited: neighbouring countries’ economies are small, and there is no high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) transmission lines to European markets. But if we could export renewable electricity as molecules rather than electrons, this would overcome that challenge [for the large European and other markets].

The SBIDZ complete Media Release can be read here.

Saldanha Bay as a hydrogen fuel export hub continued – Media Release - 08/04/2022

Why Saldanha Bay is a potential hydrogen fuel export hub…continued

Following the first and hugely successful Energy Transition Webinar on 17 February, Smart manufacturing in the energy and maritime sector through the lens of an SEZ, the Saldanha Bay Innovation Campus (SB-IC) will hold the second webinar on 12 April.

The Saldanha Bay Innovation Campus’s webinar – Saldanha as a hydrogen hub – will focus on unpacking this report. Key focus areas will be:

• the role of hydrogen in the energy transition;
• the areas where SA is leading in RD&I hydrogen development; and
• the type of RD&I needed to scale production…

The SBIDZ complete second Media Release can be read here.

Maths teachers honoured at graduation ceremony – Media release - 10/03/2022

Maths Teachers Honoured at Graduation Ceremony

On Tuesday, 8 March, the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ), in association with the Universities of Stellenbosch and the Witwatersrand, hosted a graduation ceremony at the Blue Bay Hotel, Saldanha Bay.

Mr Brent Walters, education superintendent-general of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), gave the keynote address. The gala dinner honoured 14 Saldanha Bay Grade 8 and 9 mathematics teachers who recently completed the Professional Development Programme in the Applications of Dynamic Software for Secondary Mathematics Teachers.

The SBIDZ complete Media Release can be read here.

Answering the call for existing and future energy demands – Media release - 01/03/2022

Answering the call for existing and future energy demands

The Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ) – the country’s first special economic zone (SEZ), located at a port – is again collaborating with the Atlantis SEZ (ASEZ) for Green Technologies at the Africa Energy Indaba 2022.

The prestigious two-day event [1 – 2 March] provides an opportunity to showcase renewable and sustainable energy solutions to meet rural and urban needs. This year’s Africa Energy Indaba theme is The business of energy – Africa beckons.

SBIDZ CEO Ms Kaashifah Beukes said, “Our collaboration is a good example of how we can promote our synergies between us to attract other business partnerships, investors, buyers, and foreign government stakeholders. The African Energy Indaba has always been about finding solutions – and we are serious about unlocking the continent’s gas, oil and renewable energy resources.”

The SBIDZ complete Media Release can be read here.

SBIDZ Energy Transition Webinar - 17/02/2022

SBIDZ Energy Transition Webinar: Smart manufacturing integral to reigniting economic growth

The Deputy Minister of the DTIC, Mr Fikile Majola, praised the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ) and Saldanha Bay Innovation Campus (SB-IC) for initiating a three-part series of webinars focusing on a just energy transition.

“The ocean economy makes an enormous contribution to the country’s GDP by playing a significant role in generating much-needed jobs,” said Majola. “The maritime economy holds immense potential to create a thriving ecosystem where entrepreneurs can be incubated and grow.”

Majola delivered the keynote address at the inaugural Energy Transition Webinar on 15 February. The theme was Smart manufacturing in the marine and energy sector through a special economic zone lens.

He went on to say that “the webinar takes place at the time the country, like the rest of the world, is hard at work to reconstruct, reposition and repurpose our economy to attain inclusive economic growth” and pointed out that the “Special Economic Zone (SEZ) programme had a crucial role to play in supporting the implementation of the country’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan”.

The SBIDZ complete Media Release can be read here.

Fikile Majola launches SBIDZ Energy Transition Webinar Series - 14/02/2022

DTIC Deputy Minister Fikile Majola launches SBIDZ Energy Transition Webinar Series

The Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ) and Saldanha Bay Innovation Campus (SB-IC) are launching a series of webinars focusing on balancing the growing call for decarbonisation with a just energy transition.

While the series will focus on aspects of the energy transition relevant to the SBIDZ, it will encompass the broader, nationwide picture. The Deputy Minister of the DTIC, Mr Fikile Majola, will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural webinar on 15 February. The theme is “Smart manufacturing in the marine and energy sector through the lens of a special economic zone”.

A recent CSIR report identified Saldanha Bay as a region to develop green hydrogen for export purposes. The first of the three-part series will focus on smart manufacturing in the marine and energy sector through the lens of a special economic zone (SEZ) and include the Coega SEZ in the discussion to drive collaboration. The second will look at Saldanha as a hydrogen energy hub, and then finally, we will discuss hydrogen-based steel production.

The SBIDZ complete Media Release can be read here.

SBIDZ AGM reveals positive growth Media Release - 22/11/2021

Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ) AGM reveals positive growth

Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ) CEO Ms Kaashifah Beukes presented the company’s annual report at the annual general meeting on 17 November 2021.

Due to delays and deferments of investments caused by the pandemic, the SBIDZ adjusted its annual targets downwards by 40% midway in the year, setting new targets of R1,02 billion GDP, R833 million GGP and 1,788 jobs in South Africa for the period under review. On the final tally, the SBIDZ contributed R1,11 billion to South Africa’s GDP, R893m to the Western Cape GGP and sustained 1,644 jobs throughout the Western Cape and 1,960 jobs throughout South Africa; thus exceeding its adjusted targets by 9% for the year under review.

Beukes said, “We achieved this through the diligent, proactive work we undertook to re-open the zone as soon as allowed, putting constructive measures in places like a COVID -19 Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Advisor for our tenants and contractors. We also strengthened our customer management with our investment pipeline and key role players such as the Saldanha Bay Municipality, Provincial Treasury, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT), the Department of the Premier, and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC).

Thembisile Salman, Chairperson of the SBIDZ Board, confirmed that the company had the building blocks required to take it forward. He reiterated his thanks to the continued support from its shareholder, the Western Cape Government’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the national Department of Trade, Industry and Competition within the SEZ Programme and the local authority Saldanha Bay Municipality.

The SBIDZ complete Media Release can be read here.

SBIDZ signs MOU with CHIETA Media Release - 10/11/2021

Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone signs MOU with CHIETA

Today [Wednesday, 10 November], Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA).

CHIETA, established under the terms of the Skills Development Act, aims to ensure that the skills and expertise required in the chemical and manufacturing industries are identified and addressed through training initiatives and skills development.

SBIDZ CEO Kaashifah Beukes welcomed the agreement and congratulated Patrick Lakabane, Executive: Development Programmes, and CEO, CHIETA Yershen Pillay for forging this partnership.

The SBIDZ complete Media Release can be read here.

SBIDZ-LC talks to Mia Spies – KykNET Verslag - 18/05/2021

Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone CEO Kaashifah Beukes spoke to Mia Spies at Kyknet about the infrastructure development investment aimed at increasing the capacity of the port to improve trade and create jobs.

Media Release – EMBARGO Saldanha R3.5 billion port investment - 05/05/2021

Saldanha R3.5 billion port investment will contribute to economic recovery and growth

Saldanha Bay, Thursday, 6 May 2021— Today, delegates at the DEVAC INFRASFUTRE conference held in Cape Town were addressed by Ms Kaashifah Beukes, CEO, Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone Licencing Company SOC Ltd (SBIDZ-LC). Beukes, who was part of the discussion “Supporting African Infrastructure Projects toward Africa’s economic recovery plans in the mix of a pandemic”, spoke on “Port infrastructure development and Industrial Zones (IDZs) development”. The topic aimed to provide a better understanding of transformational growth strategies and how to identify growth opportunities.

A number of delegates have been invited to visit the Saldanha Bay IDZ on Friday to meet the Executive Management Team and tour the site.

The SBIDZ-LC is South Africa’s first and only Special Economic Zone (SEZ) located within a port and with a Freeport, or Customs Controlled Area regime. The port also happens to be the largest and deepest natural port in the southern hemisphere.

The SBIDZ complete Media Release can be read here.

MEDIA RELEASE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND COMPETITION - 26/02/2021

The DTIC: R21 Billion Investment Commitments for Saldanha Special Economic Zone

The Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ) has to date attracted more than R21 billion worth of private investments into the zone. These investments are at different stages of development, two of them, with private investment value of R380 million have already started constructing their manufacturing facilities. The investment achievements were shared among the stakeholders during a meeting with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) led by the Deputy Minister, Mr Fikile Majola.

Freeport Saldanha is the first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to be located within a port and is the only sector-specific SEZ in South Africa catering specifically to the energy and maritime industries. The zone operates as a Free Port with streamlined investor procedures supported by its ease of doing business model. It is committed to creating a competitive and profitable zone investors and local Small Micro Medium Enterprises (SMME), while ensuring a better future for the community of the West Coast region.

The SBIDZ complete Media Release can be read here.

Saldanha Bay Innovation Campus Webinar: Clustering and Collaboration - 02/02/2021

What Does It Take to Establish A Successful Cluster?

The Saldanha Bay Innovation Campus tackles this question and unpacks what is required from each of us to make a cluster work in the Webinar: Clustering and Collaboration