Tshwane’s vehicle manufacturing plant will create 18,000 jobs, says Makhura

Gauteng Premier David Makhura says Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) project will create approximately 18,000 jobs as he visited the construction site in Silverton, Pretoria this week to to assess its progress, Rekord reported.

The Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone is set to manufacture vehicles and other parts after a multi-billion rand investment was injected into the project.

Makhura expressed his satisfaction with the progress made since his last visit in November 2019.

He was joined by deputy minister of trade and industry and competition (DTIC) Fikile Majola, director-general Lionel October and Tshwane metro administrator Mpho Nawa in the visit to the construction site.

The Premier said the special zone would play a key role in creating employment after unemployment in South Africa saw an increase up to 30.1%, which is the highest ever recorded.

Although the Covid-19 lockdown kicked in March, Stats South Africa (Stats SA) had indicated that the number of employed people saw a decline in the first quarter.

“Since August 2020, over 100 people are working on-site during this first phase. The automotive zone is expected to create 18,000 jobs beyond construction and 8,500 during the construction phase.

“This is a game-changing investment to the surrounding community of Mamelodi which needs development, economic advancement, economic inclusion and job opportunities,” he said.

Makhura further said that the first phase has 47% participation by local small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), which was currently underway.

He added that Ford South Africa had invested R17-billion towards the zone while government invested approximately R3.4-billion on infrastructure.

“It is important to offer sustainable livelihoods to many people in our province, especially after undergoing extremely difficult times over the past five months,” he said.

This article first appeared on Rekord and was republished with permission.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.