IDZ chief executive Peter Myles said yesterday that the confirmed tenants, German condom manufacturer Condomi and compatriot brewer Veizengold, would start building their plants this quarter.

Condomi's investment totals R40 million in the first phase, while Veisengold's will come in at about R220 million.

IDZ management has not disclosed the details of the seven prospective tenants, saying that although negotiations were fairly advanced, they were still at a sensitive stage.

Myles said he would attend international conferences on the New Partnership for Africa's Development in London, Berlin and
Zurich this month to market the zone.

He would also attend the World Export Processing Zone Association conference in June in Brussels.

Unlike Coega near Port Elizabeth, the East London IDZ does not require an anchor tenant to be viable.

Communications manager Di Stap said the East London IDZ would focus on attracting a diverse group of small, medium and large investors in four main sectors: motor, pharmaceuticals, textiles and forestry.

Myles said the East London IDZ would not compete directly for investors with the far larger Coega. 

The East London IDZ covers 380ha, of which 250ha will form a duty-free area.

There are private industrial parks covering 130ha attached to the IDZ. It is estimated the zone will grow to cover as much as 1 500ha.

Where Coega will require a R5.6 billion investment in port, landside, power and road infrastructure to make it suitable for investment, the East London IDZ will use existing infrastructure.

It is 1.5km from the airport and 4km from the harbour.

The Coega IDZ, which covers about 9 000ha, is in the final stages of signing up French aluminium technology heavyweight Pechiney as an anchor tenant.

The Pechiney deal is expected to lead to the establishment of a R20 billion, state-of-the-art aluminium smelter in the zone.

Pechiney announced last June that Coega had beaten Australian communities in the race to be named the preferred destination for its new smelter.