Location

Home to Dube TradePort

The 3 000 ha Dube TradePort is being constructed at sea level some 30km north of Durban, on the east coast of the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

The province comprises some 8% of South Africa’s land mass and is home to 21% of the country’s population.

The Dube TradePort is being developed in close proximity to South Africa’s two major ports, Durban – with the country’s biggest container terminal, and Richards Bay, Africa’s biggest deep-water harbour. The vast majority of South Africa’s imports and exports enter and leave the country by way of these ports. The new development will be located on the national N2 freeway linking Durban and Richards Bay and a major dual-line rail link.

The advent of the Dube TradePort further strengthens KwaZulu-Natal’s competitive advantages as a premier international business investment destination and an idyllic tourism destination.

In essence, the Dube TradePort will effectively become a significant element in the further entrenchment of KwaZulu-Natal’s position in the global supply chain.

The strategic advantages behind such positioning include:

• South Africa’s second largest economy;
  
  
• A stable and rapidly growing business environment, especially as regards the province’s burgeoning manufacturing and emerging ICT sectors;
  
  
• Extensive port activity with high traffic volumes:
  - Durban: A strategically located port in terms of world shipping routes and pivotal in the life of the city.
  - Durban, South Africa’s primary general cargo and container port, deals with in excess of 31 million tons of cargo, worth more than R50 billion, every year
  - Richards Bay: This deep-water harbour handles 80 million tons per annum.

• An advanced and comprehensive road and rail network between the two harbours and the Dube TradePort and with South Africa’s primary economic hub, Johannesburg and its surrounds;
  
  
• The existence of free trade agreements, including MERCUSOR – Southern African Customs Union, India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA), African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) and the European Union-South Africa Free Trade Agreement provide new trade and investment opportunities; and
  
  
• An advantageous location as a business and trade launch pad into the hinterland of South Africa and beyond, into Southern Africa.

Potential for New International Air Services

Importantly, too, the advent of the Dube TradePort provides new and additional international air service opportunities.

There is already significant airline interest, market potential, cost-effectiveness and new revenue generation for those airlines willing to fly to the new international airport. This is supported by the national government’s airlift strategy.

An analysis of specific direct air services reveals that the following routes provide commercially viable routes from the first day of operations at the new international airport, for both passenger and cargo movements:

• Durban – Dubai;
• Durban – London;
• Durban – Frankfurt;
• Durban – Mumbai; and
• Durban – Singapore.