Dube Trade Port boom for Shree family

Durban - Property mogul Pran Shree “took a chance” when he decided to invest in Dube Trade Port and bought 65% of the land.

“People were saying it was going to be a white elephant,” he recalled.

But three years later, Shree’s confidence in Dube Trade Port, next to King Shaka International Airport and the Dube Cargo Terminal, has been justified.

There are indeed businesses who want their manufacturing and distribution plants to be sited at Dube, a world-class air logistics and trade platform now a special economic zone.

Established in 2007, the Durban-based and family-owned Shree Property Holdings – a property development and logistics business – has 65 warehouses in south, central and north of Durban, including Dube Trade Port, close to their customers’ distribution chains.

Shree had initially planned to invest R560 million at Dube Trade Port, but because some of their customers who have taken warehouses have specialised needs, has been increased to R900m.

The company will eventually develop on more than 30% of land in the second phase at Dube Trade Port.

They have some big-name tenants in the first phase, including Samsung, which manufactures and assembles 3 000 TVs a week.

The company is now building a distribution centre in the adjoining site – and when phase two of Dube Trade Port comes on stream, plan a kitchen appliance manufacturing plant.

The Shrees' newest client is Yangtze Optics Africa Cable, a global leader in optical fibre and accessory manufacture, which is building a R100m facility, with a further R150m expected to be spent on machinery and other equipment.

Shree told guests at the official breaking ground ceremony on Friday that his first name means “life” and with a smile added: “I am adding life to this area.”

Shree’s son, Pavan, said later that offering warehousing facilities at Dube Trade Port had proved a win-win situation for the company.

Average leases for warehouses elsewhere were for about five years, while the Dube Trade Port leases were averaging 10-15 years.

The company is also planning to get its own plane – Shree Air – to distribute cargo to Mauritius and SADC countries.

Shree Property Holdings was helping to develop an aerotropolis in Mauritius and building 60 000m2 of warehousing 3km from the airport.

...

Optical fibre firm destined to become largest in SA

Progress was swift once a leading global Chinese optical fibre and accessory company decided to establish a cutting-edge manufacturing plant at Dube Trade Port.

“They made their decision within weeks and told us about their intent to come to Dube Trade Port in December, then moved straight into lease negotiations,” said Hamish Erskine, the acting chief executive of Dube Trade Port.

And on Friday, the official ground-breaking ceremony took place at the site where their R100 million purpose-built fibre optic manufacturing plant will go up.

The Yangtze Optics Africa Cable (YOAC) company and Mustek Ltd, its local broad-based black economic empowerment partner and Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company, will shell out a further R150m on machinery and other equipment.

The speedy process was the result of government departments – local, provincial and national – working together to make it happen, various speakers at the ceremony said.

“Dube Trade Port is fast becoming an attractive premier investment destination,” said Yunus Hoosen, the acting deputy director-general of the Department of Trade and Investment.

The government was supporting the project with various incentives, including training allowances for the 150 people who would get jobs, he said.

YOAC has committed itself to a four-year high level skills development plan to expand local skills in specialised jobs.

Some people will get the chance to go to China to learn the latest methods.

Recruiting and training will start in September and some of the people who recently lost their jobs when the Phoenix Cable company closed down are likely to find employment.

“We have just been told about Phoenix Cable closing down, so we are going to reach out to the management next week to see what we can do,” Pieter Viljoen, YOAC’s chief executive, said.

The 15 000m2 factory, destined to become the largest facility of its kind in the country, will produce a new generation of optical fibre cable products for the South African ICT market as well as for key export markets in East and West Africa.

With an envisaged capacity of more than a million fibre kilometres, it will play a significant role in developing South Africa’s broadband future, meeting the current and envisaged demand from new Fibre to the Home project announcements and cellular operators’ migration to 4G and LTE services versus supply, Viljoen explained.

* Dube Trade Port has now attracted R1.4 billion in private investment.