Statement by the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, Alderman James Vos

1 450 jobs retained and R1,3 billion investment secured in Atlantis

This morning, I met with businesses in Atlantis where the incentives offered by the City resulted in the retention of 1 450 jobs.

During this period, PF Nonwovens (formerly Pegas Nonwovens), commissioned their new plant to the tune of R1,3 billion, which is expected to create 200 full time jobs by the time it is fully operational. This company manufactures non-woven, polypropylene and polyethylene-based textiles used in disposable hygiene products.

The main purpose of the Investment Incentives Policy is to provide incentives in areas where there is great potential for job creation but where challenges to investment currently exist.

I am happy to confirm that the City Council recently approved the extension of investment incentives to a further five industrial areas in Cape Town, namely:

Triangle Farm;

Parow Industria;

Sacks Circle;

Lansdowne Industrial; and

Elsies River

The newly designated incentive areas form part of my priority to ensure we retain and expand businesses in these key locations. Based on the success of the incentives in Atlantis, I am excited about future investments and the number of jobs we can create and retain for the residents of Cape Town.

By targeting specific areas which have met a set of criteria, the City intends to:

Maximise the socio-economic return of incentives by focusing on areas with strong potential but are currently underperforming

Assist in removing area-specific blockages to investment, or systemic market, or regulatory failure

Enable the achievement of development objectives in specific areas, and

Assist with addressing issues of spatial inequality

The non-financial and financial incentives include:

Non-financial incentives are tangible ways where we can help businesses grow by:

Prioritising single-point investment facilitation

Fast-tracking building plan applications (5-day turnaround)

Fast tracking land use applications (3 months)

Issuing occupancy certificates much quicker (5 days)

Financial incentives offered by the City makes provision to cover specific costs such as:

Building plan application fee waiver

Land use application fee waiver

Development contribution deferral and write-off up to R1 million

Special electricity tariffs for a period of two years

We have been hard at work this past year positioning ourselves as the growth directorate for Cape Town.

Key to pursuing growth in our metro is the Investment Facilitation Unit that works to streamline processes for larger investments in the City. This includes offering both financial and non-financial incentives to set-up. It also offers help on clearing bottlenecks that may arise.

Another key project funded by the City to promote economic growth is the Invest Cape Town initiative which promotes our status as a high-performance, African business hub that supports big ideas and innovation. This initiative supports businesses by providing access to new insights, research, opportunities and solutions. The team works with international and local entrepreneurs, SMEs and multinationals that wish to set up a business in Cape Town.

The Invest Cape Town team offers a number of customised services, free of charge. This team can be contacted on info@investcapetown.com and I encourage big business to explore the website to learn more about what they do at, www.investcapetown.com

If you are a SMME wanting to grow, or wanting to start a business, The Business Hub can help with any part of the process, including connecting you with business partners, funders, support organisations or City departments. The hub can be contacted on business.support@capetown.gov.za

These incentives are a concrete way the City is working to ensure Cape Town remains regionally and globally competitive.

This is what a city which works for its residents looks like. I look forward to implementing more successful strategies so our city and all who live here can grow from strength to strength.

Source: City Of Cape Town