Automotive components and trims manufacturer YFPO’s new 25 000 m² manufacturing facility in Rosslyn, Tshwane, will be finished by May next year, Rosslyn Hub Development Company director Brendan Falkson has told Engineering News.

Earthworks for the project started in early July.

“Before the earthworks are finished and, once we get beneficial occupation, the main contractor will come to site and start with precast panel erections, which will speed the construction process, and will start while foundations are being cast,” he explained.

He noted during a site visit on July 25 that the first area for the plant’s robotics installations had to be ready soon, making the project timelines “extremely challenging”.

“We need a concrete floor, walls and a roof by November,” he said.

YFPO is a joint venture (JV) company between French automotive company Plastic Omnium and Chinese automotive company Yanfeng.

Although YFPO currently operates 27 plants and employs more than 4 700 people, the new Rosslyn facility – which is valued at more than R600-million – is the JV company’s first investment outside of mainland China and will be supplying car manufacturer BMW’s plant in Rosslyn.

The start of construction on the plant was celebrated by property developer Eris Property Group and Rosslyn Hub Development Company at an onsite sod-turning ceremony on July 25, which saw various public and private sector stakeholders in attendance.

The YFPO building will be owned and developed by property developer Eris Property Group and will form a crucial part of the envisioned R50-billion Tshwane Auto City (TAC).

The TAC will be funded by private sector investment and is envisioned to transform the Rosslyn area into a leading automotive investment destination in Africa.

The Rosslyn area is already home to four automotive plants owned by BMW, Nissan, Iveco and Tata, as well as various automotive component suppliers.

Eris development manager Pieter Gouws said the YFPO project’s “extremely tight deadlines” were necessary to achieve BMW’s manufacturing timelines. The project has, therefore, received high-level facilitation support from both the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) and the City of Tshwane.

The TAC is envisioned to emulate well-established automotive cities such as those in Spain, China, Germany and Japan. The hope is that the TAC will form a second central business district in the north-west of Tshwane, close to Garankuwa and Soshanguve, and will be anchored by a labour-intensive automotive manufacturing core that will enable workers to walk to work and which will redress the poor land decisions of the past, Gouws said.

The TAC masterplan identified the key road infrastructure required to unlock the development. One of these is the extension of Tungsten road, which will be built by Rosslyn Hub Development Company simultaneously to the construction of the YFPO building.

This road will provide access to the proposed logistics hub and inland port, required for the auto industry to be linked to the N4 highway and Transnet’s rail line.

The YFPO facility, which Falkson called a “catalytic project”, would mark the start of the first phase of the planned Rosslyn Hub, which will include an industrial and logistics precinct, a shopping centre and filling station, a private hospital, as well as affordable apartments for employees working in the area.

The Rosslyn Hub is planned to include 1 200 houses and 1 200 rental apartments, a crèche, a primary and high school, two shopping centres, as well as a value centre and filling station.

The hub will also feature a logistics park and vehicle distribution centre, with access to a rail logistics hub, a truck staging area and truck stop, motor showrooms and a motor retail area, a hotel and conference centre, as well as an outdoor automotive pavilion.