SAB makes R240 million investment in Durban
South African Breweries (SAB) has made a R240 million investment into the Prospecton Plant in Isipingo, south of Durban.
eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda met with the SAB management on site yesterday, October 19, where he expressed his pleasure that the company continues to expand their investment in the city.
The investment by SAB is geared towards creating additional jobs in the beer value chain of the city and the province.
Mayor Kaunda said this investment is critical to creating sustainable jobs.
“We are witnessing the expansion of a plant that is currently employing over 500 people,” he said.
“This company has been a household name, not only in Durban, but throughout the country since its inception 127 years ago. Of these years of operation, 49 have been spent in Durban nurturing small businesses in the form of distributors and creating much-needed jobs.”
He also thanked the management of SAB, saying that despite the calamities eThekwini has faced in the past three years, they have decided to retain and expand their operations in the city.
Mr Kaunda said some of the setbacks experienced in the city were Covid 19, the July 2021 civil unrest, and the recent floods.
He said this was a clear demonstration that if they collaborate as social partners, a great deal can be achieved.
Despite SAB being affected by the floods last year, they managed to resuscitate the operations and are now fully operating, said the mayor.
He thanked SAB for retaining the jobs of employees and creating more opportunities for them, especially the youth. This, he said, stabilised economic growth in the city.
Regional director of SAB Nkanyiso Mncwabe said during the 2023 South Africa Investment Conference, they pledged to invest R5.8 billion. He said of that amount, R240 million has been spent on the expansion of the Prospecton Plant.
“In KwaZulu-Natal, SAB directly employs 572 workers of which the Prospecton accounts for 50 percent of the total employment in the province. In 2019, SAB’s total impact amounted to R9.2 billion contributed to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is equal to 1.1 percent of KwaZulu-Natal's GDP. SAB invests over R20 million in socio-economic development annually. We are also glad that during the floods and civil unrest, we were able to retain jobs. We attribute this to the support we received from the municipality,” said Mr Mncwabe.
