Premier Oscar Mabuyane: Profiling Investment Opportunities in Eastern Seaboard Development Region Programme

Programme Director(s):

Minister for CoGTA, Hon. Velenkosini Hlabisa
Minister for Small Business Development, Hon. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams
Minister for Water and Sanitation, Hon. Pemmy Majodina (TBC)
Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Hon. Thami Ntuli
His Majesty King Ndamase
Kgosi Thabo Seatlholo
Deputy Minister for CoGTA, Hon. Dr. Namane Dickson Masemola
EC MEC for CoGTA, Hon. Zolile Williams
KZN MEC for CoGTA, Hon. Rev. Thulasizwe Buthelezi
SALGA President, Cllr. Bheki Stofile
Executive Mayors and Councillors
Traditional Leaders
Investors and social partners
Distinguished guests,

Good morning.

Today marks an important milestone for the Eastern Seaboard Development (ESD) initiative; a transformative, multi-sectoral, multi-government programme aimed at shaping the future of South Africa’s eastern coastline.

This is one project that we must drive with dedication as it would stand as a legacy of the democratic dispensation to benefit generations to come.

For the Eastern Cape, the Eastern Seaboard Development overlays the long-established Wild Coast Corridor Development, and it is crucial that we preserve this intersection.

This will ensure continuity, coherence, and alignment with our provincial development vision, while enabling joint planning between the two key provincial governments, as well as across all spheres of government.

Integration and alignment with the Wild Coast Corridor Development will allow the ESD to build on years of planning, community engagement, and infrastructure investment already underway across the Wild Coast.

The N2 Wild Coast Highway is a foundational enabler of economic transformation along this corridor. The Mtentu and Msikaba Bridges, together with the full N2 upgrade, open unprecedented opportunities for logistics, freight efficiency, tourism expansion, and investment into previously isolated coastal areas.

Further complementary infrastructure development underway in the province, notwithstanding the ongoing development of the Mtentu and Msikaba bridge interchanges, includes:

• Digital infrastructure rollout enabling broadband connectivity for business and government services,
• Energy and water infrastructure investments that support industrial, tourism, and settlement growth,
• The ongoing Mthatha Airport upgrade to support freight and passenger mobility.

The province has also identified a suite of catalytic projects of significant scale and reach; initiatives that have the potential to unlock employment, expand services, drive socio-economic investment, and advance spatial reform.

The Eastern Seaboard Development should enhance these catalytic initiatives, which have a regional outlook and multiplier effects extending into KwaZulu-Natal.

These catalytic initiatives are envisaged to be anchored on the development of Port St. Johns and Coffee Bay as future smart, sustainable regional development nodes: integrating modern infrastructure, digital connectivity, environmentally sensitive planning, and mixed-use economic precincts.

This framing aligns with the evolving national approach, which prioritises regional development ecosystems over the creation of entirely new metropolitan-scale cities.

The Wild Coast Mtentu and Msikaba Bridges are critical logistical enablers. Their completion modernises the N2, making it safer and more efficient for heavier freight and frequent traffic.

The upgraded corridor supports opportunities for:

• freight and logistics centres,
• warehousing and cold-storage,
• air-cargo handling linked to Mthatha Airport,
• fleet expansions and intermodal transfer points.

The Wild Coast Meander Route offers construction, transport, and tourism logistics opportunities. As access improves, demand will grow for:

• fleet investment
• rural logistics operations
• distribution hubs linking the coast and hinterland

The Umzimvubu Dam is one of South Africa’s most strategic integrated water projects. It offers:

• domestic and industrial water supply
• irrigation for high-value agriculture
• hydropower generation
• opportunities for industrial parks and logistics platforms around bulk-water infrastructure nodes.

Key focus areas for industrial development projects aligned with the Eastern Seaboard Development are:

• Wild Coast SEZ under development: a future hub for agro-processing, fisheries and forestry value addition, and logistics services.
• Vulindlela Industrial Park Development: expanding manufacturing capacity into interior regions and integrating local SMMEs into provincial value chains.

Energy security will be vital for the successful realisation of the Eastern Seaboard Development. Feasibility studies show strong onshore wind and solar PV potential across OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo Districts.

Investment opportunities include:

• utility-scale solar and wind farms (10–100MW)
• hybrid solar-wind-BESS projects to stabilise supply
• municipal renewable energy partnerships
• green technology development.

The province acknowledges ongoing packaging of the Matatiele Solar and Baziya Wind initiatives into full business cases.

Colleagues, an integral part of the Eastern Seaboard Development is tourism and heritage development. The Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast offers unmatched natural beauty and cultural heritage.

Key opportunities include:

• Port St Johns Waterfront and Aerodrome (new investment attraction case as DFFE funding declines)
• PSJ Second Beach redevelopment
• Wild Coast Meander Tourism Corridor
• Nelson Mandela Cultural Precinct (KSD)
• eco-lodges, adventure tourism, and marine conservation ventures
• Silaka Restaurant and Conference Centre redevelopment
• Ntenetya Dam tourism infrastructure.

Agriculture which is one of our growth frontiers must find expression in the Eastern Seaboard Development. Again, the Eastern Cape has plenty of opportunities that we must bring to fruition.

For instance:

• Magwa–Majola Tea & Eco-Tourism Valley
• cannabis processing and beneficiation (cosmetics, medicinal extracts, biomaterials)
• high-value crops such as macadamia, avocados, citrus and essential oils
• rural agro-industries: meat, dairy, grain, wool, feed, oils, and biofuel
• agro-logistics platforms and cold-chain systems for export markets.

Earlier this month we hosted a symposium on the Ocean Economy. The oceans economy contributes R27.9 billion to the province’s GDP (2023) and supports 43,000 jobs.

Further opportunities we are unlocking as part of the Eastern Seaboard Development include:

• Port St. Johns small harbour development
• aquaculture and fisheries expansion
• marine transport, small vessel building and repair
• refrigerated fleet leasing and coastal logistics services.

We emphasise strict environmental and regulatory compliance, including marine licensing, aquaculture permitting, coastal management, localisation and community participation.

As I conclude let me reiterate that Eastern Cape commits to:

• full alignment of provincial planning with Eastern Seaboard Development regional priorities under the DDM framework.
• prioritisation of catalytic infrastructure: roads, bridges, renewable energy, bulk water and digital connectivity.
• fast-tracking the SEZ and industrial park development process.
• strengthening investment packaging between EC and KZN, MISA and district municipalities.
• ensuring community ownership and benefit-sharing in all ESD investments.
• enhancing regulatory efficiency to make the region investor-ready and investor-friendly.

The Eastern Seaboard is one of the most powerful opportunities to reshape the socio-economic landscape of South Africa’s rural coastline in the democratic dispensation.

For the Eastern Cape, this is not just a development programme, it is a generational project that will uplift communities, modernise infrastructure, grow industries, and unlock new economic frontiers.

Together, let us move with speed from planning to implementation because our people yearn for an Eastern Seaboard Development that delivers prosperity, dignity and opportunity for all.

I thank you.

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