By John Young
The impressive Msikaba Bridge, pictured above, will cut travel times between East London and Durban by three hours and open up the economy of the Wild Coast region of the Eastern Cape like never before.
The bridge, which spans the 198m Msikaba River gorge and is part of a larger N2 Wild Coast project of the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), is being constructed by the CME JV, a partnership between Concor and MECSA, both 100% black-owned Grade 9CE construction companies.
The complex engineering project includes two 127m-high pylons and its length makes it a leader in terms of cable-stayed technology. The projected overall value of the project is expected to exceed R2-billion. Msikaba Bridge will also be, at 192m, the third-highest bridge in Africa, exceeded only by Bloukrans Bridge on the western border of the province and Mtentu Bridge, another bridge which forms part of the N2 Wild Coast project. At 260m, Mtentu Bridge is one of the longest balanced-cantilever bridges in the world.
The development of infrastructure as a means to attract investment is examined in a separate article elsewhere in this journal.
Tourism will be an obvious beneficiary of the project that will make wonderful landscapes accessible in ways that used to be the preserve of hikers and 4×4 vehicles. Opponents of the idea of mining on the Wild Coast will obviously fear that improved access will make mining in sensitive areas more feasible. The reserves of ilmenite, rutile and zircon that lie under the sand dunes at Xolobeni on the Pondoland coast are not going to go away, and requests for mining licences are likely to be made again, despite the issue having proved dangerously explosive in the past.
While it is certain that vehicles will be able to move around much more quickly in and around the Eastern Cape in the near future, what is far less certain is whether the province’s original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will be able to export their cars and trucks to the United States.
The East London plant of Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) exports left-hand-drive C-Class sedans into the US in large numbers and regularly wins awards related to the perceptions of clients buying its vehicles in that country. Together, the MBSA and Daimler Truck Southern Africa plants employ about 2 750 people directly, and are responsible for a large ecosystem of automotive parts manufacturers.
The announcement in July 2025 that MBSA would be pausing production caused commentators to see a link to the machinations of the US government regarding tariff policy. The company did not make that link, stating simply that it was “standard procedure” based on variable production volumes.
However, OEMs and political parties of every kind are guaranteed to be paying attention to the tariff issue as the vehicle industry in the Eastern Cape is really at the centre of the economy. An article elsewhere in this publication examines the role that the automotive industry plays in the province.
Diversification
The diversification that all economies need, and which the Eastern Cape will need to accelerate if automotive exports are affected in any long-term way, has already begun in the sense that the province has earned for itself the title of the country’s “Wind Province”.
A large proportion of the projects approved in the multiple rounds of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) have been allocated to the Eastern Cape and the province continues to leverage that advantage.
There are 13 wind farms in the Kouga Local Municipality (which includes Jeffreys Bay) so it was logical for Nordex Energy South Africa to choose Humansdorp as the site of a factory to make concrete tower sections. This will be an important boost for the local economy and presumably improve cost considerations for other developers. Apart from the company’s warehouse in Gqeberha and an involvement in five wind farms in the province (installed capacity of 573MW), Nordex is also in the process of supplying and installing turbines for two wind farms on the northern border of the province for Envusa Energy, a joint venture of EDF Renewables and Anglo American.
The many new wind-power plants that the province now hosts bring power, but they also bring employment and opportunities for local communities where the wind farms are sited. The province’s most recent wind-power investment will see a further three 110MW facilities constructed in the Kouga Local Municipality. The Impofu wind farms will supply energy to Sasol and Air Liquide in Mpumalanga. Enel Green Power and Red Cap are building the R9-billion project after a lengthy environmental and public engagement process with about 60 landowners, including the Reebok Rant Workers Trust, a dairy operation near Oyster Bay.
Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are an important part of the province’s strategy to attract investors. Regarding renewable energy, both the Coega SEZ, at the Port of Ngqura near Gqeberha, and the East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ) have dedicated renewable energy zones. In addition, the Coega Development Corporation is actively pursuing a big green hydrogen project and has started on its Coega Solar Rooftop Project (CSRP) at the two entities it manages, the SEZ and the Nelson Mandela Bay Logistics Park.
There is a link to the renewable energy sector from other changes in the automotive sector, namely electric vehicles. In 2024 an investor pledged R11.4-billion to build 29 new off-grid charging stations. The AIDC-EC has already begun rolling out charging stations as part of its programme to prepare the way for the new automotive environment. It is also engaged in extensive training programmes.
Tourism
Another of the province’s great assets which still has enormous potential to expand, and help the drive to diversify, is tourism, a sector that has been identified by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) as a priority sector.
The ECDC invested R2-million in attracting the TV series Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island and that investment has been shown to pay off both in monetary terms and in showcasing the spectacular Wild Coast to TV audiences. The immediate economic impact of the filming was estimated at R10-million.
The north-eastern segment of the province is the site of a possible future national park, which would bring to five the number of national parks in the province, joining the Addo Elephant, the Camdeboo, Garden Route and Mountain Zebra National Parks. These parks not only look after animals but also protect quite distinct types of vegetation.
If the proposed Grassveld National Park is established high in the mountains above the village of Rhodes and near to the border with Lesotho, it would be South Africa’s 20th. The conservation goal behind the park is to preserve grasslands through agreements with landowners and farmers who would continue to farm the land responsibly. The land of the Batlokoa community is near the famous Naude’s Neck Pass.
As a source of clean water, the area is a hugely important resource and worth preserving for that reason too. The water that falls away from the highest point of this proposed park is described by Andrew Weiss of the WWF as “heading towards the Mzimvubu River and the Indian Ocean” while another small stream at the top of the mountain is destined to join the Orange River in the west.
Weiss also described rock paintings of eland and reedbuck “with the unusual addition of dogs and a fat-tailed sheep”. The Grassveld National Park project of the South African National Botanical Institute (SANBI) has recorded 1 131 species of plant life on the iNaturalist app.
In addition to national parks, the Eastern Cape has 15 provincial nature reserves and a multitude of luxury private game reserves.
The events sector is another Eastern Cape specialty, with the National Arts Festival and a variety of sporting events such as Iron Man being hosted by the province. Two big new golf events have put the spotlight on the province’s tourism offering, the SDC Championship at St Francis Links (jointly hosted by South Africa’s Sunshine Tour with the DP World Tour) and the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship, an official DP World Tour event. The South African PGA Championship, one of the Sunshine Tour’s marquee events, was hosted for several years by St Francis Links.
Eastern Cape Business 2025/26 Edition
A unique guide to business and investment in the Eastern Cape.
The 2025/26 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 18th edition of this successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Eastern Cape.
We welcome the participation of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) in this edition of the journal, both in providing up-to-date information for editorial use and in sharing information about its activities. It will also distribute the journal through its regular channels and at the annual Eastern Cape Investment Conference.
Key issues pertaining to economic growth underpin two editorial features in this edition. “An engine of growth” surveys the vital automotive sector. Having recently celebrated a century from a Ford plant being established in 1924, the automotive and automotive parts sectors continue to play a critical role in nurturing economic growth and creating jobs. Exports are vital, so how the sector and government respond to whatever new tariff regime is put in place by the US will be critical to the province continuing to prosper. Automotive support body AIDC-EC is gearing up for electric vehicles in response to changing legislation in Europe. The other editorial special feature looks at how infrastructure development is being pursued as part of a broader strategy to attract investment.
Overviews are provided on the other key economic sectors of the province and the potential of the Oceans Economy for this coastal province is examined. The major business chambers in the province have made contributions to the journal as usual and the newest chamber, the Maritime Business Chamber, which has its headquarters a short distance up the hill from the Port of Gqeberha, makes its third appearance in the journal.
