SPECIAL FEATURE
Investing in Limpopo Local and foreign investors are seeing good value in several sectors.
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he mining sector continues to attract significant investments into Limpopo Province while agri-processing, tourism and energy are the other key sectors where new assets are being developed. Limpopo in 2018 signed Memorandums of Understanding with the Chinese province of Henan. The focus of these MOUs is in the fields of mining, agriculture, tourism and human resource development. Similar agreements were signed with four Namibian regions. Northam Platinum and Haraeus Precious Metals collectively put R900-million into a large expansion of smelter capacity at the Zondereinde mine just south of Thabazimbi early in 2018. (The photograph shows the president of Haraeus Precious Metals, André Christl, and Paul Dunne, the CEO of Northam, in front of the smelter.) The Musina-Mukhado Special Economic Zone (SEZ) announced shortly after this that Chinese investors had committed to a range of investments into the zone, which is located near the border with Zimbabwe and near to several large mines. Mining-related activity will form an important component of the SEZ, as it will at the other planned SEZ, near Tubatse in the east, where the platinum mines of large miners like Implats are located and South Africa’s only copper producer, Palabora Mining Company, has a mine, a smelter and a refinery. In agri-processing, a tomato paste plant was relaunched near Tzaneen by Dursots-All Joy and many of the big producers continue to spend money rolling out new facilities. This is also a sector where the supply chain is used by large retailers to support the establishment of new local businesses. Polokwane has recently welcomed a new 160-room hotel, the Park Inn by Radisson Polokwane, and the Industrial Development Corporation is engaged with investors in Tzaneen and other parts of the province to roll out more accommodation options, including lodges. The massive new coal-fired power plant under construction at Lephalale will form the centre of an energy hub once it is complete, and coal miners will continue to invest in order to feed this, and other power stations. The renewable energy field is also attracting interest in Limpopo. The Limpopo Economic Development Agency (LEDA) is the key driver of the provincial government’s drive to boost the economy through investment. LEDA is an agency of the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (DEDET), which in turn has a number of units which focus on specific aspects of the agency’s brief: LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2018/19
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Risima Housing and Finance Corporation: access to housing finance and adding value in rural areas Limpopo Connexion: promoting and developing the ICT sector to enable citizens to be connected and to make for smoother business operations Enterprise Development and Finance Division: financial and business support and training and mentoring offered to new businesses or businesses wanting to expand.
LEDA’s overall brief is to contribute to accelerated industrialisation in Limpopo by stimulating and diversifying the industrial base of the regional economy. The focus is on high-impact projects that will spark growth in a variety of sectors and create employment opportunities.