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Renewable energy company, Hive Hydrogen, said it had considered at least 50 ports worldwide to locate its R105 billion rand green ammonia plant, before settling on the Coega Special Economic Zone.
Africa CEO, Colin Loubser, was providing an overview of the progress of their massive investment at the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chambers' investment showcase event on Friday.
Loubser told business leaders that Hive aims to go live with their green ammonia plant in 2029, noting that the off-take is expected then as the market develops.
He said the plant would be developed over four phases at an estimated cost of $20bn.
Meanwhile, Loubser says around 20,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created during Phase 1 alone.
He noted that down the line, once phase 4 was completed, around 4000 permanent jobs would have been created.
Loubser said the Special Economic Zone could also benefit from their massive investment, which has already received worldwide interest and coverage.
He was also complimentary of the Port of Ngqurha, which he said provided many benefits already in terms of its available infrastructure.
The chairperson of Hive Hydrogen, Thulani Gcabashe said; "We also have local land secured close to the plant for the establishment of an additional solar farm with a capacity of up to 600 MW. Once complete, the solar farm will be one of the largest PV parks in South Africa.”
“Our goal is to pave the way for environmental best practice in South Africa with this development."
Hive Hydrogen’s green ammonia plant is hailed as one of the largest inward investments into South Africa, and the company aims to establish “one of the world's largest green ammonia plants, producing more than 1,000,000 tons per year for export to the Far East and Europe."
The company said that the plant would have a dedicated renewable energy power supply of 3700 MW generated by wind and solar energy - representing the largest clusters of PV farms and wind assets under single ownership in Africa.
