TASEZ hosts strategic partner City of Tshwane

By Mandla Mpangase
Africa’s first automotive city, the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) has kicked off 2025 with a bang, hosting representatives of the City of Tshwane on a site visit of the hub.
TASEZ is the creation of a strategic partnership between all three tiers of government: national, through the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition; provincial, through the Gauteng Provincial Government; and local, through the City of Tshwane.
The members of the mayoral committee for economic development and spatial planning, Sarah Mabotsa, and for community and social development services, Kholofelo Morodi, and their team were welcomed by TASEZ CFO Rebecca Hlabatau, who emphasised the importance of the strategic partnerships that went into the creation of the special economic zone (SEZ).
On Monday, 20 January 2025, the visitors were taken on a tour of a number of the factories on the site, including component manufacturers Automould, Thai Summit, Feltex and AIH Logistics. They are some of the TASEZ tenants that provide parts for the production of the Ford Ranger.
TASEZ is anchored by the automotive manufacturing sector which is seen as a prime driver of socio-economic development.
The automotive manufacturing sector is an important economic catalyst for the local economy; it accounts for 21.9% of the country’s manufacturing output, according to naamsa, the Automotive Business Council.
The City of Tshwane has been involved in the development of TASEZ from the very beginning, providing the external bulk infrastructure to the Silverton-based hub. This covers the water and power supplies to the hub, along with the upgrading the road infrastructure to the hub.
It was the result of a hefty investment from Ford to expand their output of vehicles from 160 000 a year to more than 200 000 annually, along with the three tiers of government that helped TASEZ become the fastest SEZ developed from greenfield in the country, with 10 operational investors – in less than two years.
The private sector, including Ford Frame and the other 10 component manufacturers invested a total of almost R6-billion during the development of Phase 1.
Government investment totalled R4.12-billion, with additional input in the form of political will, incentives and developmental support.
Crucial to government’s strategic partnership was the fact that TASEZ exists to attract investment, create jobs and boost exports. Above this, TASEZ also focuses on building strong relationships with the wider community, ensuring it makes an impact beyond the automotive sectors.
The City of Tshwane team were told that during Phase 1, TASEZ spent R1.7-billion on construction procurement from small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs), some 43% of the total construction budget.
Some 5 500 jobs were created in construction, with 3 311 permanent jobs created.
“We are looking forward to building on our foundations as we gain momentum on our Phase 2 developments,” Hlabatau said.
This phase will see more investments, and the creation of a centre of excellence which includes the TASEZ Training Academy.
“It is important to us to support the goals set out in the South African Automotive Masterplan and in so doing support inclusive economic participation through skills development and technology transfer,” the CFO added.
The TASEZ Training Academy has been established:
- to understand and respond to industry trends and community needs;
- to provide easy access to a range of much-needed development programmes;
- to build strong partnerships within government, the Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs), higher education institutions, research bodies, and industry; and
- to be the go-to academy for South Africa’s automotive sector.