By Nangamso Mabindla
20 June 2005

IT WAS great to know all the hard work had paid off. These are the words of Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela, who at a gathering on Friday, June 17 congratulated the East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ) for landing three new investors.

Speaking at the ELIDZ plant on the West Bank, Balindlela said, "The success of our zones will confirm economic growth in the province. We have spent over R300-million supporting the IDZ to enable it to attract much-needed investment into the province."

According to the premier, the provincial government was very pleased that its efforts had reaped such rich rewards. "I want to congratulate the [ELIDZ] for bringing in these investors into Buffalo City and only hope that more investors will come on board."

East Cape Development Corporation chief executive Kevin Wakeford also congratulated the zone for landing its new investors, saying it could only mean increased economic growth for the province.

"In the next few years we want to move from being number nine to number four in the country. Investments like these will make it possible for us to achieve that goal," he said.

The two Eastern Cape industrial development zones were also running ahead of the other such zones around the country. Tumelo Chipfupa, a representative from the national Department of Trade and Industry, said the two, Coega in Port Elizabeth and the East London IDZ, were doing better than those in Joburg and Richards Bay.

Last month Coega secured a R200-million investment from a Belgian textile company. That investment, a first for Coega, will eventually create 1 200 jobs.

"With these zones we are basically putting money where our mouth is," Chipfupa said. "We are committed to economic development in the country, especially in provinces like the Eastern Cape."

Despite the strides made by the ELIDZ, major infrastructure issues still needed to be tackled. "The port, the airport and the East London Rail Link need to be sorted out if we are serious about turning this region into a major export industry," he said.

He also congratulated the province's IDZs for landing new investors. Coega, in the Nelson Mandela metro, is expected to announce its second investor this week.