Page 39 - Logistics News - September - October 2021
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C O MPANY  NE W S

          Coega welcomes                          Imperial and Sasol to

          DHL in the Special                      formalise partnership

          Economic Zone
                                                   Imperial Logistics and Sasol South Africa have entered into an agreement
          The Coega Development Corporation (CDC)   to collaborate in exploring options and solutions for improving freight
          welcomes DHL as an investor in the Coega   sustainability and efficiency in southern Africa. The two companies will
          Special Economic Zone (SEZ), says Khwezi Tiya,   also be evaluating potential cross-border collaboration.
          CDC’s Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that
          the decision that was taken by DHL to locate its   South Africa’s transition to a low carbon future requires bold
          investment in the Coega SEZ was a correct one and   innovation and investment in transformative technologies. A green
          highlights the importance of SEZs in South Africa as   hydrogen sector holds promise for growth and development in the
          key enablers for growth and development.”  country’s primarily coal-based economy and will contribute to South
                                                   Africa’s international climate change commitments.
            The Coega SEZ is a trans-shipment hub and
          a leading investment destination in Africa, and it
                                                     Sasol’s aspiration is to play a leading role in the co-creation and
          provides a location with modern infrastructure for
                                                   development of hydrogen ecosystems, which aims to decarbonise hard
          sustainability and businesses to thrive.
                                                   to abate sectors such as transportation, using green hydrogen produced
                                                   at its operations facilities leveraging existing process equipment and
            The timing for the opening of the DHL facility
                                                   proprietary technology. Decarbonising heavy-duty, long-haul trucking
          is especially significant because of the current
                                                   using fuel cell electric (FCE) trucks is an area of
          devasted economy as a result of the COVID-19
                                                   interest to both Sasol and Imperial.
          pandemic. The DHL investment at Coega has
          contributed to socio-economic development in line
                                                     Imperial plans to reduce its carbon footprint
          with Coega’s vision, making a significant impact on
                                                   by exploring a range of alternative truck
          the local economy. 
                                                   technologies. For heavy commercial vehicles
            During the construction of facilities, more than   travelling long distances, FCE trucks hold
          255 construction jobs were created and a total of   promise as a viable zero-carbon solution. Sasol’s
          24 SMME contractors benefitted from the project.   expertise in hydrogen production and refuelling
          DHL now employs more than 50 people at its   infrastructure combined with Imperial’s
          Coega SEZ facility, which is important during these   expertise in fleet management, its extensive
          difficult economic times. It is hoped that DHL’s   transport footprint and superior end-to-end
          success at Coega will be sustainable in order to   supply chain solution capabilities, are expected
          create more jobs during operations to boost the local   to deliver good synergies from the collaboration.
          economy for many years to come and that this lays a
          foundation for further DHL investments. •  Mohammed Akoojee, Imperial’s Group CEO, says, “This strategic
                                                   partnership with Sasol helps cement our commitment to a just transition
                                                   to a low carbon economy and is another step towards positioning
                                                   Imperial at the forefront of alternative energy fleets. We also welcome the
                                                   opportunity to work together with Sasol to develop viable and sustainable
                                                   greener supply chain solutions that will not only benefit our clients and
                                                   principals, but the broader logistics and supply chain industry.”

                                                     Priscillah Mabelane, Executive Vice President of Sasol’s Energy
                                                   Business, adds, “Green hydrogen can help tackle various critical energy
                                                   challenges and is positioned for rapid global growth as the pathway of
                                                   choice to decarbonise, amongst others, the long-haul transport sector.   L O GI S T I CS NEWS
                                                   This partnership is yet another milestone in Sasol’s aspiration to play a
         The new DHL facility consists of a 11,198m² DC and
         718m² of offices. The total site is 20,000m² in Zone 1,   leading role in the development of the green hydrogen economy of South
         Coega SEZ, Gqeberha.                      Africa.” •


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