The Gauteng Industrial Development Zone Company (‘Gauteng IDZ’ or ‘GIDZ’) is a subsidiary of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) that was established in 2009 with the purpose of developing and operating the OR Tambo International Airport Special Economic Zone (ORTIA SEZ or OR Tambo SEZ).

The mission of the GIDZ is “to identify, design, package and enable focused export-driven manufacturing and beneficiation programmes for location at the ORTIA SEZ”.

In response to the set mission, the Gauteng IDZ has packaged and is presently developing, a competitive agro-processing and jewellery manufacturing hub inside the property boundaries of OR Tambo International (referred to as ORTIA Precinct 1).

In addition, an additional 29ha land parcel – located some 2kms away from ORTIA Precinct 1 and outside the Airport Park is in the process of being packaged for investment uptake. Furthermore, the Gauteng IDZ has also secured an additional 13,9ha for development. The latter land parcel is located next to the Impala Platinum Refinery and in lieu of its location, is earmarked for PGM related beneficiation.

 Competitive Location of the OR Tambo International Airport SEZ programme

The OR Tambo SEZ programme is located at or in proximity to OR Tambo International Airport. OR Tambo remains the largest and busiest airport in Africa, with approximately 21m passengers passing through the Airport per annum; this is 3,7m more than Cairo International Airport, which comes in second place.

From a logistics perspective, OR Tambo International is the largest air cargo hub in Africa, handling 77% of South Africa’s air cargo volumes with a total of 387 277 tonnes. These attributes make the OR Tambo SEZ ideal for the manufacturing and exporting of products that move via air freight; otherwise known as high value-low mass or light weight goods. These include perishables (such as fresh food and medicines), mineral products (such as jewellery and diamonds) and advanced products (such as electronic components).

In addition to the competitiveness of OR Tambo International, the broader metro of Ekurhuleni (where the Airport is located) has many advantages. The Metro is home to the largest rail hub in South Africa, making the movement of goods via rail freight feasible. Furthermore, the Metro has consistently been a major contributor to South Africa’s GDP, historically accounting for at least 8% of the country’s production. Specifically, manufacturing in Ekurhuleni accounts for some 22% of GVA – almost double the national average.

All these attributes make the OR Tambo SEZ and the region within which it operates, ideal for investment localization.