Our Featured City : Port Elizabeth.

The city is situated 260 km from Knysna and +- 800km from Cape Town. Located on the South Eastern coast of Africa, in the Eastern Cape Province (see the map on the right).

Port Elizabeth has been an important port and harbour on the South Africa east coast ever since the first British settlers began arriving from 1820. Port Elizabeth was one of the earliest commercial cities in South Africa, trading in wool, mohair and ostrich feathers. Xhosa, Indians and Malaysians migrated to the city to work and trade.

Today, fruit, shoe manufacturing, metal and timber processing, and electrical engineering are also important. There is also some food processing, tanning, and chemical production. 65 – 75 % of South Africa’s mohair is produced in Port Elizabeth before export.

 

The city is home of South Africa's motor vehicle industry, Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage host General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford, Continental Tyres and many more automotive companies.

Many other industries in the area are geared towards the motor vehicle industry, providing parts such as wiring harnesses, catalytic converters and tyres to the vehicle manufacturers.

Port Elizabeth has many conference centres available which are equipped with state-of-the art facilities. Video conferencing and team building venues are situated in and around the city at game lodges, resorts and hotels. There are many establishments available that cater for a host of different needs.

Port Elizabeth coastline location, makes it an ideal base for many watersports. The Splash Festival is a well known, annual water sport festival that is held over the Easter period.

 

The local people are known for their friendliness and welcome visitors with open arms and a warm smile, hence the affectionate term, “Port Elizabeth, the friendly city” is often used.

 

The area has great ethnic diversity. Port Elizabeth was the first place where the Khoisan and Xhosa peoples met the British, Dutch and Germans. The great Nelson Mandela was born and educated here. This city boasts the highly successful Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

The city is the second largest city in terms of area and the fifth largest in terms of population in South Africa (1.1 million). The area is Malaria Free and temperatures are moderate all year round with rain scattered throughout the year. The 3 languages most used in the area are Xhosa, English and Afrikaans.

Another drawcard is Coega, which is at the centre of the world's main trade routes, being equidistant from American, European and the Pacific Rim regions.

This makes the Coega IDZ the ideal location for any manufacturer adding value to raw materials and components and producing goods bound for the world markets. The economy of the Eastern Cape has grown faster than the national economy over the past few years. This sterling growth has been led mainly by the manufacturing sector.