Upskilling and creating opportunities for localisation, allowing suppliers and contractors in the Saldanha Bay municipality to become service providers to investors in the zone, is key to the “way of doing business” for the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ).
The SBIDZ infrastructure programme is made possible by the National Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Fund for the SEZ Programme. The SEZ Fund’s primary objective is to provide capital towards bulk and related infrastructure that leverages investment from third parties through foreign and local direct investment in the operations of such enterprises and the infrastructure required.
Since 2013, the SBIDZ has trained over 2 450 individuals from the Saldanha Bay Municipal area in various occupations, capacitating them with skills and capabilities to take advantage of the future opportunities presented by the SBIDZ.
In addition to training, the SBIDZ and the National Department of Employment and Labour (DOL) use the Employment System of South Africa (ESSA) database, a free job seekers online placement platform, to ensure that local labour is utilised. There are currently about 20 000 users of this database in the Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM) area.
SBIDZ works with the DOL to improve the quality and usage of the database locally. This database is used in all infrastructure development construction projects by the appointed Community Liaison Officer, responsible for sourcing local employees to support the project.
We encourage all investors to use this database for their workforce requirements once they are housed in the zone.
The SBM and SBIDZ have also created the SME Co-Lab Centre, which is available to small businesses at no cost. This is a shared workspace for the Saldanha Bay business community, with offices, meeting rooms, free Wi-Fi, printing facilities and access to laptops.
L to R: Faith Filtane, Zandile Silingo, Suzaan Visser, three talented businesswomen who are making it in the Saldanha Bay IDZ as it expands partnerships with local construction companies.
The Centre also offers access to networking sessions with public and private sector stakeholders and partners. The Co-Lab has attracted more than 1 500 small, medium and micro–enterprise (SMME) visits and engagements since it opened in 2020.
Our contractor development programmes plan to increase the quality, productivity and competitiveness of local construction enterprises and we will keep providing information about this important priority on our various communications platforms.
Kaashifah Beukes, CEO of the SBIDZ.
GREEN SHIPPING
Greening the ocean waves
In December 2017, the Hydroville was launched, the first Lloyd’s Register (LR) classed vessel powered by hydrogen. It, perhaps, was not as momentous as the launch of the first container ship, SS Ideal-X, in 1956, but the impact on the enormous shipping industry will be as immense.
There are roughly 85 000 large working ships ploughing seas. It is a gigantic enterprise that has made globalisation of the markets possible. The Hydroville used hydrogen to power a diesel engine, resulting in zero carbon…READ MORE
IT’S UP TO THE DRONES
The Californian condor is a magnificent bird with a wingspan of 2.7 m, and it can soar hundreds of metres above the earth. But by the 1940s, the species was almost extinct, and by the 1980s, only 22 wild condors remained. One of the reasons for its disappearance was that it had fled its natural habitat (for obvious reasons: human encroachment had destroyed its feeding ground, and hunting added to the destruction).
For years, conservationists had tried to lure the endangered birds back home. Condors feed on carrion—they are a species of New…READ MORE
ANOTHER FIRST FOR
SALDANHA BAY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ZONE
: SALDEHCO
Saldehco’s Saldanha Offshore Support Base (SOSB) is South Africa’s first and only offshore support base, located in proximity to a major maritime route.
Saldanha is a central location for global marine
traffic and offshore operations and construction…READ MORE
IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT
Interview with Lelanie Abrahams
Associate: Estate & Client Liaison
Early on any given Sunday morning up the West Coast, you may see a convoy of cars—Hondas to be specific—possibly on the R315 passing through Malmesbury and maybe taking the R45 to Paarl or the R27 to Cape Town. The cars’ paintwork will be immaculate, polished to shine like a new blade. Among these breakfast run drivers is a lone woman driving a ’92 Honda EG. When she stops, she may tell you about its 1.5L, inline four-cylinder, dual overhead cam engine or speak…READ MORE
Quarterly newsletter | Issue 4, May 2021
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Freeport Saldanha · 24 Main Road · Saldanha Bay, Cape Town 7395 · South Africa
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