THE Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ) has announced it is finalising civil construction work on its 22ha Phase 1A site this week.
The first stage of the site development, which is part of a 216ha industrial estate adjacent to the Richards Bay port, included the installation of storm water, sewerage and road works.
This means the sizable property is now ‘ready for investors to move in’ said the organisation in a statement.
Three occupants in the pipeline are Nyanza Light Metals, Phaka-Sangle Energy Africa and Oasis Eco Solution, which signed property leasing deals with the RBIDZ in November.
The agreements were celebrated as milestones for the zone, which had only secured the Tata Steel factory several years ago.
Arkein International, which plans to invest R4.5-billion for a Nyanza Light Metals pigment plant in Richards Bay, is currently undergoing an Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) process.
However, Phaka-Sangle Energy does not require an EIA and has already submitted their building plans to RBIDZ Infrastructure Planning and Development for assessment.
Fellow renewable energy player Oasis Eco Solution is also still busy with their EIA.
Meanwhile, new contracts have been awarded at the beginning of this month to Zama Electricals and Devtech Civils for stage two of Phase 1A.
The entire industrial estate was promulgated in 2002 as a public entity, with 60% of its shares held by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism and 40% by the City of uMhlatuze.
