Cape Town - The City of Cape Town earlier this week welcomed a R1.3bn investment in Atlantis by multinational corporation Pegas Nonwovens, which is set to open a new plant in the suburb.
The new Atlantis facility will manufacture non-woven, polypropylene and polyethylene-based textiles used in disposable hygiene products such as nappies, adult incontinence and feminine hygiene products.
At a media briefing on Wednesday, Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille congratulated Pegas on furthering its international expansion.
The company has expressed great confidence in Cape Town as a safe investment location, De Lille said.
De Lille said the investment by Pegas is expected to create 200 direct jobs.
"[This] is an investment into the lives of vulnerable residents who will soon have a brighter future as they, together with their families, are uplifted out of poverty," she said.
Minister 'dragging his feet'
Atlantis is a proposed special economic zone (SEZ) which is envisioned to support manufacturing, mainly for the renewable energy sector.
Meanwhile, in a statement on Thursday, the Department of Trade and Industry said it disagreed with the mayor's assertion that Minister Rob Davies is "dragging his feet" to establish Atlantis as a SEZ.
Such sentiments are unfortunate as the minister can only act on recommendation from the SEZ advisory board and has not received any recommendation this far, the department said.
The department said the SEZ advisory board is an independent body.
Other major companies already operating in Atlantis and include Gestamp Renewable Industries, a Spanish wind tower manufacturer as well as electronics manufacturer Hisense.
The R1.3bn project is the largest single investment facilitated by the Western Cape's investment agency Wesgro since 2011.
In a statement, Western Cape premier Helen Zille said the province plans to launch an investor centre alongside Wesgro during the course of 2017.
This will be a one-stop-shop for investors to complete local, provincial and national regulatory processes under the professional guidance of a single relationship manager, Zille said.