Engineering
• Investment in engineering enterprises is being encouraged in the province’s industrial development zones
Engineering in the Eastern Cape continues to have as its central focus the automotive industry. The manufacture of vehicles and related downstream industrial applications provide opportunities for engineering enterprises of every sort, almost all of which are located in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropole and East London. The Eastern Cape produces 27% of the value of South Africa’s automotive industry.
Two recent developments in the Eastern Cape have served to diversify and expand opportunities: the building from scratch of a multipurpose stadium to serve the 2010 Fifa World Cup, and the development of two large industrial development zones (IDZs) at Coega, near Port Elizabeth, and in East London.
Not only have the development of these IDZs placed extra demand on the engineering sector – civil, electrical and mechanical – but the zones themselves are focused on engineeringrelated industries such as the automotive and automotive-components sector as well as metals, electronics and ICT. The Eastern Cape Development Corporation is actively pursuing investors for these zones.
Elizabeth was one of the first to be declared ready for use almost a year ahead of the soccer event, and has already successfully hosted a rugby match involving the touring British and Irish Lions team. Considering that this was a greenfields project, this was a considerable achievement for the many companies that collaborated to create the impressive structure on the banks of the North End Lake. The building contract was executed by a joint venture comprising Grinker-LTA and Interbeton Ibhayi, while the role of lead mechanical consultant and electrical services provider was filled by WSP Group.
A unique feature of the World Cup stadium is that it is located between a lake and the sea. However, the coastal area near the facility is degraded and suffers from a lake of sand due to wave action created by the nearby harbour. An ambitious plan to pump sand to North End is currently being investigated, with the complicated engineering implications being researched by Africoast Engineering.
Service in education
Port Elizabeth-based power cable manufacturer, Aberdare Cables, has developed a technical tutorial on power cables that has been accredited by the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers. The company also trains apprentices at its Stanford Road factory.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Engineering Council South Africa: www.ecsa.co.za
South African Institution of Chemical Engineers: www.saiche.co.za
South African Institution of Civil Engineering: www.civils.org.za
South African Institute of Electrical Engineers: www.saiee.org.za
South African Institute for Industrial Engineering: www.saiie.co.za
Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa: www.seifsa.co.za
