PRETORIA– Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has published the intention of the Southe African government to designate the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (SEZ) near Cape Town and the public has 30 days from Sept 8 to support or object the designation of the Atlantis SEZ.

He said last Friday that the proposed SEZ had already demonstrated its strong economic potential and attractiveness to investors by the fact that it had successfully managed to secure investors even before the designation of the SEZ. There are five investors at the proposed SEZ which are already operational, with investments totalling approximately 680 million Rand (about 52.45 million US dollars).

Davies said he was encouraged by the fact that additional investment commitments worth 1.8 billion Rand had already been secured for the short to medium term.

The application for the designation of the Atlantis GreenTech SEZ was jointly submitted by the Western Cape Provincial Department for Economic Opportunities and the City of Cape Town.

The SEZ is to be developed as a green-technology hub with particular focus on clean technologies, electronics, solar and wind energy technologies, energy efficient technologies, alternative waste management, alternative building materials and technologies, among others.

The development of the Atlantis GreenTech SEZ has the potential to attract more investors and also contribute significantly to changing the development landscape of the town of Atlantis and its neighbouring areas. The area, about 40 kil0ometres north of Cape Town, is currently confronted by challenges of high unemployment, poverty and drug abuse.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK