The Coega Development Corporation is signalling its confidence in the industrial development zone by putting out to tender a contract, valued about R70-million, to build its new home in a four-storey office block.

Tender notices have been published, with construction expected to start in August, and occupation in January 2007.

The CDC says it has outgrown its present offices in Humerail.

"We have decided to operate within the IDZ to demonstrate our confidence in the development of the zone," says CDC spokesman Vuyelwa Qinga-Vika.

The CDC has been renting its office space for the past five years. The construction of its own building is therefore seen as a more cost effective solution.

Half of the multi-storey, 800-square-metre office block will be used to house the CDC, with the remainder leased to tenants.

It is expected that some of the first IDZ tenants will be among this group.

The building will be situated close to the entrance to Port Ngqura and the N2 national road and will be near the first areas expected to be occupied in the IDZ.

Roads around the office building space are currently under construction, and bulk services have been supplied to the site.

Qinga-Vika says that allowance has been made in the tender for the use of local contractors and skills. Should a suitable tenderer not be found within the region, outside contractors will be required to establish a joint venture in order to qualify.

She says areas of the project have also been identified that will be reserved for SMMEs.

A modern look is central to the design of the building, which Qinga-Vika says "sets an example of high quality facilities that we would like to see developed within the zone".

The office block will be the second permanent complex in the zone after the recruitment centre that houses Coega Labour and Business Management Services and for unions represented on site.

Qinga-Vika says the CDC expects the construction to stimulate further development within the IDZ.

"The Nelson Mandela Metro is the only major metro in the country with high-quality industrial land that is just a 10- to 15-minute drive from the main residential areas. That, coupled with the deep-water port of Ngqura, makes Coega a preferred investment destination," she says.

The CDC is at various stages of negotiations with about 60 potential investors, many of whom are foreign, with projects which include high-end textiles, metallurgical, metals, automotive, logistics and energy sectors.

The status of these discussions varies from pre-feasibility negotiations to site-engineering stages.