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The V&A Waterfront hopes to break ground later this year on a proposed R20-billion development to be rolled out in phases over the next 15 to 20 years.

The new development and its funding have already been approved by joint shareholders Growthpoint and the Public Investment Corporation.

V&A Waterfront spokesperson Donald Kau says the project requires rezoning approval, with a decision now pending from the City of Cape Town's Municipal Planning Tribunal.

The application was released for public comment in July last year.

The massive new development will involve reclaiming land from the sea.

To put it in perspective: The V&A Waterfront's application is for an additional 440 000 m2 in development area to add to its current 614 000 m2 footprint.

The majority of new build is planned for the Granger Bay precinct.

It is envisaged that Granger Bay will be developed as a residentially led, mixed-use precinct with public and cultural amenities - a process that will include reestablishing public access to the ocean edge.

Kau says the V&A Waterfront's vision for the Granger Bay site includes a public walkway linking the city centre to Mouille Point, connecting with the current Atlantic seaboard promenade.

"The V&A Waterfront's ultimate vision for Granger Bay is opening up public access to a new protected area," he notes.

"Our design approach will strengthen the shoreline and protect the bay, at the same time as creating a new leisure destination for swimming, walking and water-based activities.

"This will be subject to statutory approvals, including environmental impact assessments and reclamation approvals."

Granger Bay currently houses popular landmarks like the Oceana Power Boat Club and Oranjezicht City Farm Market, which will both be integrated into the new development.

The V&A Waterfront in its current guise welcomed more than 25-million visitors in 2023.

Long in the Making

Thirty years ago, a basket of rights was granted for Cape Town's then neglected docklands through a zoning agreement to develop 603 859 m2 of floor space, says Kau.

In 2015, this increased to 613 859 m2, with the approval of an application to redevelop the historic grain silo precinct.

Today, the Waterfront's remaining development rights are mostly accounted for through approved plans, and limited opportunities remain for future development, notes Kau.

It is in this context that the V&A Waterfront applied to rezone its property from 'Development Zone' (the unique zoning established for the Waterfront in March 1993) to 'Mixed Use 3' in terms of the City of Cape Town's Development Management Scheme.

This is considered the most appropriate zoning for the Waterfront and its broad mix of land uses, says Kau.

About 66% of the 440 000 m2 of floor space applied for is earmarked for the Granger Bay development area.

The remaining 34% is proposed for other parts of the Waterfront property, including the Canal District, which has seen renewed interest and investment with the development of Battery Park, an inner-city park with leisure and recreational facilities centred around remnants of the historic Amsterdam Battery.

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International Trade Administration of South Africa (Itac) chief commissioner Ayabonga Cawe reports that a summary report relating to the commission's review of the Price Preference System (PPS) for scrap metal has been handed to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic).

The document reflects public comments received by the November 8 deadline arising from the initiation, in late September, of the review of the PPS guidelines. However, Cawe tells Engineering News that it does not represent a final recommendation, with further work ongoing.

The PPS is designed to regulate scrap exports to facilitate the affordable supply of ferrous and nonferrous material to domestic consumers.

It has come under the spotlight again after ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) cited the PPS and the scrap export tax as one of the reasons for its decision to wind down its long-products business and place its Newcastle facility into care and maintenance, at the expense of 3 500 jobs.

Other reasons provided related to weak domestic demand, surging imports and high and rising rail and electricity costs.

AMSA claims that the benefits arising as a result of the 30% ferrous scrap discount and 10% export tax have placed its Newcastle mill, which produces steel from iron-ore using blast-furnace technology, at a competitive disadvantage when compared with steelmakers using scrap in electric arc furnaces.

Cawe confirms that the comments received covered a range of issues, including the discount rates, transactional costs, delivery periods and costs, as well as payment terms that deviated from the cash-on-delivery method envisaged.

Some stakeholders raised questions about the effectiveness and desirability of the policy itself, but because Itac is not the policymaker, its review is limited to the administrative and procedural aspects of the PPS.

Cawe expects Itac to finalise its recommendations on the PPS guidelines during the first half of the year and says AMSA, which also made comments on the guidelines, had been appraised of progress during meetings held under the auspices of a task team set up to address obstacles to the sustainability of its longs unit.

"It's regrettable, therefore, that AMSA has made the wind-down announcement, as we would have hoped that the company would have had more faith in the dialogue that was under way," Cawe tells Engineering News.

In line with the dtic's reaction to the AMSA announcement, he says Itac remains committed to seeking a resolution.

He also confirmed that Itac was making progress on the review of the tariff structure for primary, midstream and downstream steel products, in line with a directive given to it in May.

The review will look at the existing trade-related measures in the steel sector and assess their effectiveness. It will also consider the suitability of further measures to raise the level of protection for the domestic steel sector.

The intention, he says, is to strike the right balance between protection for the domestic steel industry, while facilitating imports where needed by downstream steel users.

"We are taking a value-chain approach and we are analysing the entire tariff book in relation to primary, midstream and downstream steel products to assess what the tariff structure looks like, while seeking input from market participants on the adequacy or inadequacy of the existing measures of protection."

Opportunities will be provided, during various stages of the review process, for public and stakeholder comment and Itac is aiming to make its recommendations to the Minister during the coming few months.

The review forms part of what Cawe describes as a move by Itac to become more strategic and proactive amid expectations that trade instruments are likely to be used more assertively by governments in light of the tariff signals bei...

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) saw its new-vehicle sales slip by 9.8% in 2024 compared with 2023 - this in an overall market that was down 3%.

The local arm of the Japanese manufacturer has, however, retained its position as long-standing market leader, despite its share of the market also dropping - down from 26.8% in 2023, to 24.9% last year.

This means that one in every four new vehicles sold in South Africa remains either a Toyota, Hino truck or Lexus premium car.

Toyota sales reached 128 663 units last year, down from 2023's 142 612 units.

TSAM sales and marketing senior VP Leon Theron describes 2024 as "frustrating", but says he is encouraged by the resilience of Toyota and its affiliated brands.

"To stay at number one [in the South African market] for 45 years is no mean feat. Credit goes to the incredibly talented Toyota crew - from our sales, marketing and aftersales teams to our dealer staff, including our suppliers - you have pulled off yet another laudable performance, in spite of difficult trading conditions. And of course, we couldn't have done it without the loyal patronage of our customers."

Toyota may have to put in some extra effort in the years to come to retain its crown, as the current onslaught of Chinese newcomers looks set to continue.

Priced well below new-vehicle offerings from the Japanese brand - which still charges a premium for the Toyota badge in South Africa - Chinese competitors have made inroads in especially the sports-utility vehicle and bakkie segments over the last 24 months.

This means Toyota has been challenged in terms of Fortuner, RAV4 and Hilux sales. (This said, the Hilux is still South Africa's most popular vehicle, as it has been for more than 50 years.)

The current Hilux model, launched in 2016, is also starting to show its age compared with the new Ranger and Amarok models, for example.

Taxi sales were also affected by finance challenges in the minibus taxi industry.

TSAM's sales were further impacted by the inability to fulfill local market demand for the new Land Cruiser 300 and Prado models, with long waiting lists for both these vehicles.

In a domestic market where affordability matters more than ever in recent history, Toyota may also have been affected negatively by a view that its vehicles are more prone to theft, which means they may also attract steeper insurance premiums.

TSAM assembles the Corolla Cross, Hilux, Fortuner, Hiace-Sesfikile and Hino models at its assembly plant in Durban.

The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) has expressed grave concern over ArcelorMittal South Africa's (AMSA's) decision to mothball its long-steel operations, describing the move as a "socioeconomic catastrophe" with widespread ramifications for the economy, industry and communities.

SEIFSA president Elias Monage said in a statement on Friday that the closure of AMSA's Newcastle and Vereeniging works, along with its AMRAS subsidiary, would lead to severe job losses and ripple effects across the economy.

"Some of the most alarming estimates over and above the reported 3 500 direct jobs on the line are the medium-term impact of second round effects in the order of 20 000 to 25 000 jobs and in the longer-term multiples of more than this. The effect of this latest development will reverberate throughout the economy and the continent, impacting the auto, motor, construction and mining sub-sector of the economy and all who work in it," he said.

The development presents a significant setback to the base of the industrial sector and South Africa's broader industrialisation goals.

Monage said it was apparent that the ambitious goals set by the Steel Master Plan (SMP) to charter a roadmap to re-energise the sector, expand production and increase demand across the steel and fabrication industry value chain and introduce an industrialisation programme had failed.

"The SMP was meant to deliver a comprehensive industrial policy framework, where a total, inclusive, industry perspective would be taken and complementarities across the value chain enhanced. Sadly, what we are witnessing is the opposite, wherein policy is implemented in a fragmented manner, with a short-term view and with pockets of industry being pit against one another," Monage said.

He criticised government for failing to respond effectively to AMSA's year-long plea for assistance.

"The fact of the matter is that [AMSA] never had a prayer. Sadly, we've seen this play out before with the closure and mothballing of Highveld Steel and Saldanha respectively, all at the feet of a dithering government too slow to react and offering too little too late," Monage said.

The shutdown leaves South Africa with fewer players producing long-steel products, such as fencing material, reinforcing bars, beams, rails and profiles that are used in the construction, mining and manufacturing sectors.

Monage said that, ultimately, the AMSA downsizing highlights three key industrial-policy tenets.

"Firstly, if government lacks the capacity to do everything, then it should focus on its core functions - which in the economy means infrastructure, building human and social capacity and maintaining security."

"Secondly, government's role in industrial policy is to shape an enabling environment that aligns national and business interest. It is not to mediate short-term compromises between competing stakeholders."

"Finally, industrial policy should be used to rescue struggling industries or companies, especially where the long-term socio-economic benefits outweigh the costs," Monage said.

He said that the deindustrialisation trajectory observed in the sector could be attributed to a lack of a well-considered and all-encompassing metals sector industrial policy.

"A holistic approach that protects the diversity and sustainability of the entire steel value chain is essential for the future success of the South African steel industry," said Monage.

A sectoral engagement between Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau and the metals and engineering sector took place on November 20 last year. This meeting, a first formal engagement, with Tau sought to provide a platform wherein the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and the steel industry could come together and develop a way forward to arrest the rapid decline in the sectors performance.

The key take-aways from this session included a universally recognised need or urgency.

"We are not operating in a b...

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South Africa's recently established Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM) is gearing up for the allocation of the first route slots to private train operating companies (TOCs) in line with the long-awaited Network Statement, published in December.

The Network Statement, which includes a tariff structure that is considered to be decidedly more attractive to potential TOCs than the allowable-revenue pricing model outlined in the preliminary draft, provides the initial framework and pricing for the integration of third-party operators. The Network Statement will be updated yearly on April 1.

A differentiated access tariff regime has been approved, with tariffs varying by commodity or corridors. It is a two-part tariff where one tariff is based on train kilometres and the other on gross ton kilometres.

TRIM interim CE Moshe Motlohi tells Engineering News that applications for the first slots will close on February 7, followed by a 60-day adjudication period, after which preferred bidders will be announced.

These initial routes cater for a modest 2.4-million tons across five corridors, including:

a weekly 104-wagon train carrying manganese on the Cape Corridor from Hotazel to Gqeberha;

a weekly 348-wagon iron-ore train on the Ore Corridor from Sishen to Saldanha;

two weekly 50-wagon container-train slots on the Central Corridor, from Capital Park to Kingsrest and from City Deep/Kaserne to Kingsrest;

two weekly 80-wagon train slots for magnetite on the North-East Corridor, including one from Phalaborwa to Richards Bay and another from Phalaborwa to Maputo; and

a weekly 50-wagon train carrying chrome on the North Corridor from Pendoring to Richards Bay.

The capacity allocation across the routes is based on an assessment of the state of the network, which has major maintenance and investment backlogs. The network's current yearly capacity has, thus, been calculated to be only 180-milion tons, well below the 209-million tons initially forecast and far from the 250-million-ton target set for 2030.

Motlohi expresses confidence that credible bids will be forthcoming, highlighting that bidders must pay a non-refundable R125 000 to participate in the inaugural bidding process for route allocations that will endure for ten years and include a renewal option.

He refuses to be drawn on a timeframe for the operation of the first TOCs, however, noting the novelty of the process that will involve a steep learning curve.

Having grown up in the Eastern Cape town of Barkly East, where there was once a thriving and scenic branch line, Motlohi has worked most of his 22 years at Transnet within the port system, both at Transnet Port Terminals and Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA).

He believes his arm's-length relationship with the rail business will enable him to approach the opening of the rail network with "fresh eyes" and with less anxiety over the introduction of third-party operators.

In addition, he plans to draw on the concessioning experience he gained while at TNPA, where he worked on various initiatives to integrate private terminal operators at the Port of Durban and the Port of Richards Bay.

"I am committed to the opening of the network to private operators and to working with the various stakeholders in a collaborative manner, including the National Logistics Crisis Committee.

"My approach is informed by an acceptance that Transnet is unable to recover rail volumes alone and that the national economic interest and the interest of freight customers' needs to take priority over Transnet's commercial interests to achieve that goal."

MAINTENANCE BACKLOG

That said, he is under no illusion about the size and complexity of the task ahead in a context where the network is in a poor condition and where both Transnet's own finances and the tariff model outlined in the Network St...

National Automobile Dealers' Association (NADA) chairperson Brandon Cohen says he is "cautiously optimistic" about new-vehicle sales in 2025.

This follows a 3% decline in the total market last year, to 515 712 units - the lowest yearly number since the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The coming year will be intriguing, with local [automotive] industry wage negotiations and changes in the US administration adding to the complexities," says Cohen.

"Managing consumer demand amid rising cost pressures remains challenging for our retail dealers," he adds.

"Consumers are increasingly opting for smaller, more affordable vehicles or high-quality pre-owned models to navigate economic constraints, which, in turn, places pressure on retailers' bottom lines."

Cohen says hybrid vehicle sales are also gaining traction in the local market, driven by fluctuating petrol prices and growing interest in sustainable solutions.

He believes that stabilising inflation, potential further interest rate cuts and easing energy constraints could offer some relief for consumers and businesses in the new year.

However, global factors such as volatile oil prices, geopolitical tensions and ongoing global conflicts are expected to remain potential disruptors to the automotive sector in the months ahead.

Cohen says dealerships that can offer flexible financing solutions and align their inventory with current affordability trends should have an edge over their competitors this year.

"We are also seeing some [vehicle manufacturers] adjusting pricing to counter more affordable Chinese alternatives, and I expect this trend to continue into 2025."

Looking at the year that was, Cohen says the sluggish economy continued to weigh on the new-vehicle market in 2024, despite an uptick in the passenger car segment in the last quarter.

"Vehicle sales in South Africa typically align with the country's gross domestic product (GDP), and this was again the case last year.

"Meaningful growth is unlikely until the overall economy is revived, and we transition into a growth phase for our GDP."

While passenger sales managed a modest 1.1% increase in 2024, all three commercial vehicle segments recorded declines.

Cohen attributes some of the sharp decline in light commercial vehicle sales to a struggling SA Taxi pulling back on its financing activities, "which prompted other financial institutions to follow suit. This led to a sharp decline in taxi sales, which fell from well over 1 000 units per month to just a few hundred since March".

Truck sales of all sizes were impacted by SA Inc's lack of confidence in a swift economic recovery.

Electric vehicle (EV) charging station company Zero Carbon Charge (Charge) has renewed calls for more policy support to address key barriers to electric vehicle (EV) adoption in South Africa, highlighting the need for sustainable charging infrastructure and regulatory reforms.

While Charge has welcomed recent government initiatives, such as the 150% tax incentive for electric- and hydrogen-powered vehicle manufacturers, the organisation stresses that these measures alone are insufficient to fast-track EV adoption.

"This incentive to boost local manufacturing is a positive step forward, but we also need to reduce the current high import duties for EVs - which is 25% compared to 18% for combustion engine vehicles. These taxes inflate EV prices, slow demand and limit market growth," the company explains, calling for a six-year tax holiday on EV imports to stimulate market uptake.

Charge highlights that beyond high EV costs, the lack of sustainable, reliable, and green charging network remains a significant barrier.

The company believes that more support is needed to minimise the regulatory barriers hindering the expansion of critical charging networks.

In some provinces, such as the Western Cape, rural development guidelines contradict the development of solar-powered charging for EVs, despite the call for carbon reduction and environmental protection. This presents challenges to renewable energy and sustainable transport projects.

Additionally, the South African National Roads Agency's administrative hurdles continue to delay the rollout of essential EV infrastructure.

Tackling these issues is key to ensuring initiatives such as Charge's off-grid charging network can drive meaningful progress in South Africa's EV transition.

"Without a reliable network of charging stations that operate independently of the coal-based grid, EVs cannot deliver the environmental benefits they promise," Charge states.

Current data reveals that an EV charged from South Africa's predominantly coal-powered grid indirectly emits 5.8 t/y of carbon dioxide, compared with 4.4 t/y for petrol cars and 8.6 t/y for diesel-powered vehicles. This means that, currently, it is less environmentally friendly to drive an EV charged from the grid than it is to drive a petrol vehicle.

To this end, Charge's solution, which includes a network of 120 off-grid, solar-powered charging stations for EVs and an additional 120 stations for electric trucks, is vital for reducing transport emissions. These stations will ensure every EV charged is powered entirely by renewable energy, supporting the Department of Transport's net-zero transport target by 2050.

Charge further finds that transitioning the vehicles tracked on government's eNATIS system to zero-emission EVs powered by renewables could save 97-million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2050.

"Our charging network will also contribute significantly to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment's goal of reducing 76.5-million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. Without off-grid charging infrastructure, these targets are unattainable," Charge explains.

Charge's off-grid charging network development has started with a first operational station in Wolmaransstad, North West, while it continues to advocate for meaningful policies to support EV adoption.

Charge remains committed to driving forward the infrastructure needed to support successful EV transition in South Africa.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) says it intends to continue its engagements with ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) "until a workable resolution to the problems faced by AMSA and the steel industry is reached".

In a belated response to AMSA's January 6 announcement that it would be shutting its long-products business - resulting in the closure of the Newcastle mill as well as facilities in Vereeniging and eMalahleni and the shedding of 3 500 direct and indirect jobs - the dtic expressed "serious concern" over the wind-down plans.

It highlighted the efforts made during 2024 to avert the closure, which was initially announced in November 2023 and subsequently delayed to allow for further consultations with stakeholders.

This included the establishment by Minister Parks Tau of a technical working group made up of the dtic and AMSA, as well as the departments of electricity and energy, transport, as well as Eskom, Transnet and private stakeholders.

"It has always been, and continues to be the intention of government to continue these engagements until a workable resolution to the problems faced by AMSA and the steel industry is reached.

"The steel industry is critical in the reconstruction and recovery plan for the South African economy, particularly the manufacturing, mining, construction, engineering, and transportation sectors, which are at the centre of the industrialisation, localisation and beneficiation programmes of government."

The dtic said that, while the immediate focus would be on addressing structural issues affecting AMSA's longs steel business, the engagements would be broadened to address productivity improvements and supply-chain efficiencies, investments in low-carbon technologies, competitiveness and regaining of market share.

The issue of local procurement by public and private entities was also highlighted, which the dtic argued would contribute positively to raising currently weak aggregate demand.

In announcing the wind down decision, AMSA continued to highlight "structural" obstacles to the sustainability of the long-products business, which has been as serial lossmaker for about five years.

These related to persistently weak demand, high and rising logistics and energy costs, increased cheap imports especially from China, and government's scrap policy, which has placed its blast-furnace-based operation at Newcastle at a cost disadvantage relative to the electric arc furnaces producing steel locally using scrap.

The JSE-listed group acknowledged that there had been "good discussions" with the task team, but indicated that nothing concrete had been agreed to address the problems faced by the unit and it would, thus, wind down the business during the first quarter of 2025.

It revealed the decision had been communicated with the dtic on December 21.

New-vehicle sales in the domestic market declined by 3% in 2024, to 515 712 units, compared with 2023.

This follows a 0.5% growth in 2023, a 13.9% increase in 2022, and a 22.2% jump in 2021.

naamsa | The Automotive Business Council says last year's market decline comes despite a strong recovery in the final quarter, backed by easing inflation, two interest rate cuts and resurgent sales to the rental industry.

Passenger-car sales were up 1.1% last year compared with 2023, reaching 351 302 units, while all the other segments faced downward pressure.

Light commercial vehicle sales were down 12%, to 133 254 units, medium commercial vehicle sales dropped by 6.5%, to 7 714 units, and heavy trucks and bus sales declined by 4.9%, to 23 442 units.

New-vehicle export sales in 2024 saw the first manifestation of the South African automotive industry's fears about the potential impact of policy changes on its biggest market - the EU.

Total exports were down by a significant 22.8%, to 308 380 units.

The local industry in 2023 reached a new export record, at 399 594 units.

naamsa says the decline in exports was driven mainly by a slowdown in demand in Europe, owing to low economic growth, stricter emission regulations, and increasing competition from cheaper Chinese electric vehicle imports to the EU.

The EU is set to ban internal combustion engine vehicles in 2035, with South Africa not yet producing any battery electric vehicles.

Exports were also somewhat impacted by a major South African vehicle exporter readying for a model change, with demand declining for the outgoing model.

Looking Ahead

naamsa believes that further interest rate cuts this year could support domestic vehicle affordability across all segments.

Sales could also be bolstered by recovering business and consumer sentiment, and improved economic growth.

These factors could combine to see single-digit improvement in the local new-vehicle market in 2025.

New-vehicle exports could also return to positive territory, but only in the medium term, with modest economic growth expected in South Africa's major export markets. Escalating trade tension could also have an impact on export numbers.

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The failure of a task team established to chart a survival strategy for ArcelorMittal South Africa's (AMSA's) Newcastle Works, in KwaZulu-Natal, culminated in the JSE-listed steel group notifying government on December 21 that it would shut the operation by the end of January.

At the time of the official announcement on January 6, AMSA had not yet received any reaction from government and Engineering News was unable to immediately secure a response from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) regarding the development.

Comprising representatives from the dtic, the National Treasury, the South African Revenue Service, the Competition Commission, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa, Transnet, Eskom and AMSA, the task team met until late last year to deliberate on a range of issues that AMSA had identified as impediments to the mill's survival.

These issues are well known, given that they were first highlighted in November 2023, when AMSA initially announced its intention to shut the operation that produces about 1-million tons yearly; a move the steel group later delayed after government called for further consultations in a bid to find solutions.

No reprieve is likely this time, though, with CEO Kobus Verster saying that, despite "good discussions, nothing concrete was put on the table".

Besides high and rising rail and electricity costs, AMSA sought policy changes to counteract both weak market conditions and rising imports, including further protection beyond that which it already enjoys.

In addition, it sought a commitment that changes would be made to government's scrap-metal policy, arguing that the policy had placed Newcastle, which produces steel from iron-ore using blast-furnace technology, at a disadvantage relative to steelmakers that use electric arc furnaces, often referred to as mini mills, which use scrap.

Specifically, AMSA wanted the price preference system (PPS) for scrap metal to be adjusted and the 20% export tax on scrap to be reduced to 5%.

Such changes, Verster argued, would have reduced the discount to mini mills and bolstered Newcastle's relative competitiveness.

Verster estimates the discount at 40%, while proponents of the scheme suggest it is closer to 20%, and highlight the fall in long product prices to downstream steel consumers relative to flat steel, where AMSA is the dominant market participant.

Asked whether government could have done more to avert the closure, he made specific reference to the scrap policy, saying: "If that [scrap] benefit was not there, then Newcastle would be able to survive because … prices cannot be pushed below its cost of production."

As things stood, however, Newcastle had become unviable and a serial lossmaker and a decision was made to stop the "cash burn" associated with the long-products unit, which had hitherto comprised 35% of AMSA and which supplies mainly into the infrastructure and construction markets.

FAR-REACHING CONSEQUENCES

The consequences are far-reaching, with 2 200 direct employees and a further 1 300 indirect jobs affected, with Section 189 processes being initiated.

There are also knock-on effects for downstream consumers of Newcastle material, including internal consumers at AMSA's Vereeniging Works, in Gauteng, as well as the ArcelorMittal Rail and Structural unit, located at the old Highveld Steel facility, in Mpumalanga.

The socioeconomic implications for Newcastle are likely to be serious, with the mill being a key source of employment and spin-off economic activity for the town, whose relative isolation from markets and sources of raw material has been an ongoing problem; one amplified as Transnet Freight Rail's service collapsed in recent years.

Together with various other structural problems, including weak markets and rising Chinese impo...