North growth rate second highest
While the north of Pretoria already has the second highest investment growth rate in Tshwane, the establishment of a development dubbed Automotive City could push the region to the top.
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The north of Pretoria will be firmly placed on the world map with the establishment of a development dubbed Automotive City – only the second on the African continent, Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa announced.
At the same time, the northern region currently had the second highest investment growth
rate after Centurion, followed by the inner-city and surrounds in the third spot, Ramokgopa said.
The role of the automotive industry in Tshwane was notable as it had grown from R23,9
billion in 2010 to R28,9 billion last year, accounting for about 12% of the metro’s economy and growing at an average 3,9% per year.
Further highlighting the importance of the sector was the fact that Tshwane accounted for some 41% of the automotive industry’s exports in 2010, increasing to 50% in 2014.
“As such, the city is currently engaged in the process of establishing the Tshwane Automotive City in Rosslyn, which includes the purchasing of land parcels to the value of R188 million,” Ramokgopa said in his state of the capital address delivered on Thursday.
“This development will take the form of a long-term partnership between the Automotive
Industry Development Centre (AIDC), the Tshwane Economic Development Agency (Teda) and the City of Tshwane and is aimed at establishing a second automotive city within the African continent,” the mayor said.
The motor manufacturers’ dedication to furthering their business was evident, Ramokgopa
said, adding that in November last yer, the BMW group reaffirmed its long-term commitment to South Africa by announcing it would invest a total of R6 billion at its Rosslyn plant.
This investment, the largest in the local automotive industry, would enable the Rosslyn plant to produce the next generation of the BMW X3 that would be sold locally and be exported to various countries across the world.
“Aptly informed by the demand for new vehicles on the continent, Nissan South Africa has
pronounced on its plans to increase production of its new model bakkie at its Rosslyn plant, which will see potential production rising to 80 000 by 2018,” according to Ramokgopa.
He said in 2012 a partnership had been announced with BMW for a waste to energy
project and in October last year, the development of a biogas electricity generation facility was launched.
“The off-taker for this source of renewable energy is the BMW plant in Rosslyn, enabling it to derive approximately a quarter of its baseload requirements from renewable energy.”
The mayor said the energy was wheeled through the Tshwane metro’s electricity grid, creating a three-way partnership between Bio2Watt, BMW and the metro.
“The plant is currently producing 1,5 megawatts of power and will achieve full generation
capacity by June 2016.”
According to Ramokgopa, economic indicators within the capital stated that Tshwane’s growth
rate currently stood at 2,4%, which was considerably higher than the national average.
Tshwane’s unemployment rate was about 21,2%, also lower than the national average while the city-specific inflation figure was on par with that of the national average.
Based on the Better Life Index, he added, Tshwane was the quickest improving metro in
the country with the highest growth rate in the index value over the period 2011 to 2015.
“This implies that Tshwane is rapidly becoming the best place to live in South Africa.”
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