Supported by bankable feasibility studies and business cases, the OR Tambo SEZ is leveraging its competitive location next to and in proximity to sub-Saharan Africa’s largest and busiest airport to promote the production and export of products that utilize air freight as a mode of transport.
The OR Tambo SEZ attended the Infrastructure Africa Conference held in Cape Town on 16 and 17 July 2024. The conference, which, inter alia, focused on the status and capabilities of Africa’s infrastructure agenda, connected stakeholders from the continent on issues that promote and challenge infrastructure development.
These discussions are central to the OR Tambo SEZ’s development trajectory, which is presently focused on the development of infrastructure at its ORTIA SEZ Precinct 2 location (a 29 ha land parcel located next to OR Tambo International Airport and suitable for the production and export of high-value light weight products that move via air freight) and the Springs Precinct (a 13,9 ha land parcel located next to a major platinum refinery and suitable for the production of platinum related products such as fuel cells and electrolysers).
In respect of the development of large infrastructure projects such as Special Economic Zones, the conference provided insight on the importance of ensuring that bankable feasibility studies are undertaken; reducing project risk and facilitating access to development financing. In this regard, it was noted that the challenge for African projects was not lack of financing but rather, that sometimes, insufficient project preparation work resulted in an elevation of project risks that made the unlocking of the necessary development funding problematic.
Another discussion theme at the 2-day conference was Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), specifically the importance of structuring projects in a way that encourages private sector to participate in large infrastructure continental projects.
Read more: globalafricanetwork.com
OR Tambo SEZ is strongly focused on infrastructure development
