By Sipho Masondo

A multinational with head offices in Dubai is set to invest R80-million in an industrial park and container facility in the Markman industrial area of Nelson Mandela Bay, an agent for the development said on Monday.

Port Properties‘ Rodney Venter said the industrial park would occupy about 9 000m², while the container depot would occupy more than 12 000m² of the 26 000m² piece of land.

“It‘s a huge development of R80-million, especially during these tough economic conditions,” said Venter, whose company has the mandate to develop and market the property.

The depot, he said, would be a “state-of-the-art” facility used to containerise and ship scrap metal to and from Port Elizabeth and the rest of the world.

Work would begin next month and would probably be completed in the next eight months, said Venter.

“The industrial park will be one of the best in the city, with full security and closed-circuit television.

"It will cater for local and international companies dealing with Coega (Ngqura deep-water) harbour once it is operational.”

The park would be divided into sections of different sizes to cater for the needs of the different clients.

“It will be on a rental basis or sold through sectional titles,” Venter said, adding his clients chose Markman because of its close proximity to Coega.

“Markman is becoming a big and serious hub for future industrial development because it is well positioned near Coega.

“If you take a drive around the area you can see a few developments going up.

"A few years ago the area was stagnant. Now multinationals are starting to acquire land and property in preparation for Coega‘s take-off.”

Commercial and industrial property consultant at Jaco Rademeyer Properties Marcel du Toit confirmed Markman was becoming a sought-after area.

“We have a few pieces of land that we are marketing in that area.

"We have received a few inquiries from both local and international companies, mostly in the motor and steel industries.

“There is a lot of movement in the area and companies are keen to settle there,” Du Toit said.

People wanted to be close to the harbour, he said, adding that the Markman area was strategically located for both the old and new harbour.

Source: The Herald