Phase 1 of petrochemicals group Sasol’s new ChemCity Eco Industrial Park (CEIP), a 172 ha site in Sasolburg, in the Free State, has been completed. Phase 1 comprises 110 light-industry stands between 630 m2 and 990 m2, of which 17 have been transferred to their new owners.

The aim of the CEIP is to offer entre-preneurs, industrialists and small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs), as well as large businesses, a home that can cater for their requirements and contribute to the socioeconomic development of the region.

The park will offer elements of biodiversity, indigenous vegetation and green and energy efficient infrastructure. It will use alternative and renewable sources of energy and support recycling initiatives.

The CEIP also aims to be the first low-carbon industrial development in Africa and will support Sasol’s initiatives to protect the environment and achieve environmental and economic objectives by ensuring that resources are used sustainably.

Once completed, the CEIP will comprise about 241 stands between 630 m2 and 30 000 m2, offering business incubation sup-port services and infrastructure to ensure an environment that is conducive to production, logistics and marketing.

The benefits for stand owners include assistance for entrepreneurs in designing their buildings to be green and sustainable, access control and a rates and taxes break until December 2018, as well as a greenfield site with the brownfield benefits of being located between heavy industries.

Recently, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Sasol inaugurated the first building of the ChemCity Business Incubator (CBI), at the CEIB, in Sasolburg, which will support and promote the development of SMMEs.

The CBI aims to offer an ‘ecosystem’ designed to accelerate the successful devel-opment of entrepreneurial companies by pro-viding an array of business support resources and services.

The R60-million facility forms part of the DTI’s national campaign to roll out 200 businesses. Sasol, contributing R41-million overall, will develop and manage the facilities as part of its contribution to sustain development.

“The future of any economy in the world is that job creation comes from small enterprises and our challenge is to create productive entrepreneurs. “So far, the DTI has granted R409.9-million for the development of business incubator programmes,” says Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies.

Once completed, the CBI will consist of five separate buildings on ChemCity’s CEIB. The CBI will cater for start-ups and early-stage SMMEs that operate in a variety of different sectors, focusing on the chemicals, energy and related sectors, as well as on the manufacturing, agribusiness and food-processing sectors.