Ramaphosa to open new KZN rail terminal and Tetra Pak plant

Source: Government ZA - Flickr

These entities made pledges through the South African Investment Conference, an initiative led by President Ramaphosa with the ambitious goal of attracting R1.2tn in investments over five years.

"The multi-modal rail terminal in Bayhead next to the port of Durban pledged R2bn for the development of the largest multi-modal rail terminal in Africa and has completed the last phase of the development exceeding the initial pledge by R2.6bn.

"The entity has over the last 26 years demonstrated its commitment as well as significant financial, technical and human resource development in developing transformational logistics infrastructure along the country’s major trade corridors," the Presidency said in a statement.

Furthermore, the terminal is considered a leading development for logistics.

"The terminal has also been recognised as [a] flagship development expanding the logistics capacity of the country as well as enhancing global competitiveness as part of the critical NATCOR trade corridor linking Johannesburg to the port of Durban.

"The development will further facilitate an integrated ecosystem yielding benefits to freight owners, Transnet and logistics service providers. This will also accelerate the government’s objective of migrating cargo from road to rail," the statement read.

The Presidency highlighted that in 2022, the Tetra Pak Group invested more than R500m in the manufacturing plant in KwaZulu-Natal. Tetra Pak is the world’s leading food processing and packaging company with a presence in more than 155 countries.

"Post the investment, the manufacturing plant is now the only state-of-the-art facility in Africa producing carton aseptic packaging for the domestic market and African export; meeting standards of sustainability; supporting a circular economy and propelling industrial growth.

"These investments will form a critical industrial base for South Africa’s recent commencement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), for export opportunities, the statement concluded.