Sept 16, 2016: Dormac Marine’s R300-million investment in the floating dry dock will help make the shipyard a centre of excellence for the ship repair industry and act as a stimulus for additional investment and docking opportunities in Durban, said Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies. About 12,000 ships called at South Africa’s ports each year, while over 30,000 sailed along the South African coastline annually. “The ship repair industry is estimated at above R1 billion in Durban in normal trading conditions. This is with all docks well maintained and working, as well as all other challenges addressed. Dormac 1 will go a long way towards meeting the demand for ship repair in South Africa’s busiest harbour,” Davies said. South Africa’s maritime economy could generate an estimated GDP contribution of R129 billion to R177 billion by 2033 and create 600,000 jobs. “South Africa is ideally positioned to serve the East-West cargo traffic and the booming African offshore oil and gas industry through marine manufacturing, which includes ship and rig repair, refurbishment, and boat building. Despite this competitive advantage, we currently capture only one percent of the global market of ship repair and refurbishment,” he said. The marine transport work stream had developed 18 initiatives across three categories – infrastructure and operations, skills, and capacity building to accelerate sector growth. A typical dry-docking could easily entail around 30,000 hours of labour, providing a substantial employment stimulus and skills generation.

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