Let me take this moment to greet our hosts, the leadership of CCIG Electric Vehicle Technology Company, the leadership of SIGA eMobility Proprietary Limited; the leadership of AIDC Eastern Cape and the leadership of the ELIDZ. On behalf of the Eastern Cape Premier, Mr Oscar Mabuyane and the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism – allow me to say this is one of the highlights of our visit to China as the Eastern Cape delegation that arrived here on Monday last week.
Our visit in China was to honour our twinning agreement which was signed between the Eastern Cape province in South Africa and Zheijang province in China.
The main objective of this twinning agreement is to collaborate to build a growing and resilient Eastern Cape economy in line with the Provincial Development Plan which focuses on developing a growing, inclusive, and equitable economy.
To achieve this goal, we need international investors like you to take advantage of five growth frontiers in our province which are: manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, ocean economy, and ICT.
The signing of the agreement between the four parties today is a significant milestone for the Eastern Cape province because it cements a unique collaborative effort that will see our province grow and diversify the footprint of the automotive sector. This collaborative effort is a first for our province because it is not only attracting foreign direct investment, but it is also ensuring that there is meaningful participation of a South African automotive player, there is transfer of technology and skills and there is increased socio-economic benefits for the citizens of our province.
The signing of the agreement today is also a stamp of approval and a vote of confidence on Team Eastern Cape. The agility and efficiency with which the AIDC Eastern Cape responded to the requirements of CCIG and the level of due diligence they undertook in finding a suitably skilled and experienced partner in SIGA eMobility is the reason we are here today.
The CCIG/SIGA e-mobility plant will be located within one of the leading Special Economic Zones in our country . The ELIDZ is home to 20 automotive companies including the Mercedes Benz. In the last 20 years, it has attracted more that R8 billion worth of private sector investment from various countries including Germany, USA, Canada and China. There is already a world class factory that has been identified and prepared for this partnership and the ELIDZ is waiting in the wings to not only help settle your investment, but to also ensure that it facilitates access to infrastructure, incentives and other support that will streamline your operations and ensure increased efficiency.
The manufacturing sector plays vital role in growing any economy and in the case of the Eastern Cape, automotive sector manufacturing is one of the key drivers of our economy. We are home to a number of OEMs including BAIC, VW, FAW, Isuzu, Ford and Mercedes Benz. The auto sector is a big employer in our province, and this has been the case for many decades. The dominance of Chinese auto manufacturers in the current global auto sector and the advancement of new energy vehicle technology in your country are the two main reasons why, as a province , believe China is an important point of focus when it comes to the attraction of new OEMs for our province.
We are here to offer you our hand as you begin your journey to use the Eastern Cape as your gateway to Africa. May this be the beginning of a relationship that will outlive us and create benefit for many generations to come.
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