Air Products SA‚ an industrial gas company‚ is to break ground in the Coega industrial development zone near Port Elizabeth next week for a R300m state-of-the-art air separation unit.
The investment will provide gas products to industries including the automotive‚ agro-processing‚ food and beverage‚ renewable energy‚ manufacturing‚ medical and pharmaceutical.
"Gas‚ at some level‚ is incorporated in almost every industrial process. We could no longer ignore the accelerating needs in the Eastern Cape‚" Josua Le Roux‚ general manager of central support at Air Products‚ said on Thursday (2 May).
"This move will yield business growth not only for Air Products‚ but for an entire industrial supply chain‚" he said.
He said the new facility would benefit gas supply in the region‚ much of which was being brought in by trucks‚ adding to the cost of doing business.
Building the plant would begin in early June‚ with completion and commissioning planned for the third quarter of next year.
It would feature the latest air separation technology‚ designed both for maximum product output and energy efficiency.
The investment was part of the long-term strategy of Air Products to make capital investments across SA.
"This is the part of the company's long-term focus on its future sustainability and performance‚" Le Roux said.