KwaZulu-Natal’s flagship Special Economic Zone is delivering on its promise. The Dube TradePort SEZ, anchored alongside King Shaka International Airport north of Durban, has attracted R4.2 billion in private-sector investment since its inception and today sustains approximately 36 872 permanent jobs across the province, according to its latest Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Report.
The report, highlighted by SAnews this week, paints a picture of a zone that keeps compounding its wins: growing exports, expanding infrastructure and investors who keep coming back to put in more.
Investors doubling down
Dube TradePort Chief Executive Officer Hamish Erskine said the SEZ attracted a further R480 million in private-sector investment during the past financial year — much of it from existing investors expanding their capital and equipment. Those commitments created 631 new permanent jobs and 102 temporary jobs.
“Our continued investment in strategic infrastructure and investor-focused development is creating a platform for sustained economic growth and industrial expansion. Dube TradePort remains a powerful catalyst for attracting investment, creating jobs, and strengthening KwaZulu-Natal’s position in global markets,” Erskine said.
Exports top R531 million
Businesses operating within the zone generated approximately R531 million in exports during the previous financial year, shipping products to markets across the Southern African Development Community and further afield.
Erskine credited the zone’s integrated development model: world-class industrial infrastructure and logistics wrapped around direct access to global markets through King Shaka International Airport, the Port of Durban and the road network linking KwaZulu-Natal to the rest of Southern Africa.
Building for the next wave
The growth engine is not idling. During the 2025/26 financial year, Dube TradePort invested R109.7 million in fixed capital projects, completing major infrastructure works in Dube TradeZone 2 and Dube AgriZone 2 while advancing large-scale industrial warehousing.
Strategic projects earmarked for the coming year include:
- A solar farm generating at least 4.4 megawatts of renewable energy, boosting energy resilience for investors;
- Two new industrial warehouses for medium-sized manufacturers seeking world-class facilities inside the zone;
- Planning for a new water reservoir to secure long-term water availability for industrial expansion.
For a province building its future on trade, logistics and manufacturing, Dube TradePort’s numbers tell a confident story: investment in, exports out, and tens of thousands of families supported by the jobs in between.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
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