Business in Nelson Mandela Bay faces an unprecedented array of threats to survival; unprecedented in scale as well as in the sheer number of challenges to be faced simultaneously.
Many of these issues that create the current high levels of uncertainty are out of our control – tariffs, shifts in global politics and trading relationships, the speed of technology advancement, climate change and the actions required of industry and governments for mitigation and adaptation to low carbon energy generation and manufacturing. Most critical of all, and which should be controllable, is ensuring that an enabling environment is in place. Businesses need reliable electricity, water, sanitation services, infrastructure and safety and security in place in order to operate.
Amid all these challenges, it is easy to lose sight of the incredible assets which we have, and of the natural and strategic advantages that offer a solid investment case for the Bay, which we need to be maintaining and leveraging to build resilience against the headwinds that are out of our control.
A recent project update by Hive Hydrogen SA brought this point home.
Representing the largest inward investment into South Africa to date, the company is in the final development stages of its planned R105 billion green ammonia and green hydrogen plant in the Coega SEZ, powered by renewable energy. Construction is estimated to start in early 2027, with production earmarked for export to Europe, the Far East and the USA, with an off-take agreement with Japan already signed.
The project forms part of an over 27 gigawatt renewable energy and green hydrogen and ammonia project pipeline by UK-headquartered parent company Hive Energy, with over 2 800 MW of renewable energy sold or operational to date. The multinational company has offices in 22 countries, projects underway or operational in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and Africa, and capital deployed of almost US$2 billion.
The point is, a company with this kind of global footprint and reach could have picked anywhere for a new production plant, particularly as its market is not in South Africa.
So, why Nelson Mandela Bay?
In their presentation in the Bay last month to Japanese Ambassador to South Africa, Shimizu Fumio, the company said Nelson Mandela Bay and the Coega SEZ offered critical elements to achieve its goal of producing green ammonia at one of the lowest costs globally.
A geo-strategic location that is already fit-for-purpose with embedded infrastructure in the industrial zone and world-class deepwater Port of Ngqura, ample renewable energy resources, and high levels of skills and availability of labour added up to “the ideal choice”.
The availability of existing infrastructure of global standard at Coega reduces the need for infrastructure subsidies, speeds up development and lowers capital expenditure costs, lowering the price of the end product; while “a novel mechanism to bank and exchange surplus energy with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, increases plant utilisation”.
The advantages cited by the company are numerous – layout, size and berthing capacity for very large ammonia carrier vessels of the port; an integrated high-voltage electricity grid with load capacity and wheeling capabilities for transmission of renewable energy from wind and solar clusters developed in the Eastern, Western and Northern Cape; along with road and rail connections, and an established base of supporting industry, technical skills and professional services.
These are key ingredients on which the Bay should be capitalising to attract future investment.
The Hive Hydrogen project is a potential game-changer for the metro, with a host of downstream local opportunities, but it also needs to be seen as part of a wider drive towards a diversified, low carbon manufacturing economy and exports hub.
The Business Chamber and our Local Economy Reinvention Think Tank are working proactively to map our future economy and projects like this are vital enablers to revive our economy, focusing on our strengths in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors to open up new green economy opportunities in mobility, the digital economy, renewable energy and bio-fuels, green tourism, agro-processing, and diverse low carbon products.
We know that we have all the ingredients to succeed but we need concerted focus and urgent action on the enablers that are firmly within the control of government at national and municipal levels – service delivery to the basics of electricity, water, sanitation; logistics and transport infrastructure; safety and security.
Government can influence but not control the global headwinds of tariffs, climate change and the speed of digital change. It also cannot easily simply “create” jobs.
What it can control and do is to create and sustain the enabling environment that supports investment and business operations. If the basics work, then the retention and attraction of investment and employment becomes possible.
That is what is urgently needed to rebuild investor confidence in order to retain and create sustainable jobs – in turn contributing to the public funds to be used in providing public goods.
The opportunities and ingredients for success are all here in the Bay – we cannot risk losing them, unless we want to be the ones who “don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone”. We urge all the stakeholders to move with speed, take accountability and take action before it is too late.
Denise van Huyssteen is Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.