SA 'could be hub for ship, oil rig repair'
5 July 2012
South Africa could create at least 5 000 jobs by providing ship and oil rig repair and
maintenance, Transport Minister Ben Martins said in Cape Town on Wednesday.
Addressing the 2012 South African Maritime Industry Conference, Martins said a
re-invigorated maritime industry could become a key driver of economic growth and job creation in the country.
One of the biggest opportunities that had been identified in the maritime sector was
that of positioning South Africa as a centre for ship and oil rig repair and maintenance.
Cape Town's harbour is already involved in the repair of a number of rigs each year,
but this could escalate, with 250 oil and gas explorations set to take place off the
coast of West Africa in the next five years.
"Repair work driven by the expected explorations could create about 4 000 to 5 000
direct jobs and a further 1 000 indirect jobs," Martins said.
He said the government had
developed a draft Green Paper on maritime shipping,
which would be tabled before the Cabinet shortly.
Research was done on South Africa as a hub for the oil industry through the marketing of
cargo, logistics and passenger shipping.
A draft policy on making ports more competitive was also being compiled, Martins
said.
He said one consideration was to set up a transhipment hub in a special economic
zone (SEZ) to carry out re-labelling and container repairs.
Over the next three days, delegates at the conference - which is hosted by the SA
Maritime Safety Authority - are expected to debate how to make the maritime
industry more competitive, including taking lessons from the Philippines and Nigeria.
Martins said over the next two weeks, his department would be talking to the chief
executives and boards of the 12 public entities that report to the department to
discover what improvements were needed.
Source: SANews.gov.za
