Durban – KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said she has welcomed Toyota South Africa’s official reopening of its Prospecton plant, south of Durban, after activities there were suspended due to extensive flood damage in April.
Eighty-seven hectares of the plant were covered in muddy water, which resulted in extensive business disruption following the devastating floods on April 12, 2022.
While Toyota resumed production of most vehicles by the end of July at the plant, the provincial government said an official opening event would be held today at Prospecton and would be attended by the premier and MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Siboniso Duma.
In a statement yesterday, Dube-Ncube noted the contribution Toyota has made to the economy.
She said the government wanted KZN to continue to have a thriving automotive industry.
“Over the years, this industry has had a profound and wide-ranging effect on the city and suburban communities. We want the impact of the sector to be felt in the township and rural communities. We are excited because Toyota South Africa has agreed to work with the department to ensure the entry of young people in the townships and rural sectors into the automotive sector,” she said
Dube-Ncube said that before the lockdown, government figures showed the entire transport equipment sector employed more than 14 815 in the province and 9 242 people in eThekwini. The premier also recalled previous meetings she had had with Toyota SA chief executive Andrew Kirby, executive vice-president of manufacturing Nigel Ward, and other senior management, in her capacity as Finance MEC.
“In (these) we discussed the investment of R2.5 billion towards the new production line of the first ‘hybrid synergy drive’ (petro-electric) car,” she said. She said the automotive sector had suffered billions in losses as a result of Covid-19.
“Ahead of the outbreak, we were moving with speed to ensure that our Automotive Supplier Park, located in the South of Durban, was operational by the end of 2021. We had projected the creation of 1 339 jobs through an investment of R2.2bn. Covid-19 and devastating floods derailed our plans.”