The Gauteng provincial government states that its approach to economic development is based on the reindustrialization of Gauteng and the deliberate inclusion of townships and local enterprises into the mainstream economy.
“By the end of 2025, South Africa's labor market improved modestly, with national employment increasing by almost a quarter million due to growth in the infrastructure and services sectors.
Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, said, “Our province outperformed the national trend, reaching a record 5.24 million employed over the past year and contributing almost 70% of national job gains, with the strongest growth in construction, finance, community and social services.”
He said Gauteng has managed to attract R27 billion in foreign direct investment from various countries including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Australia, Cyprus, the US and the UAE, underscoring international confidence in the province as South Africa's primary investment and industrial hub.
“At our SOPA last year, we committed to attracting new investment to create sustainable jobs. We delivered as promised…we attracted R312 billion of investment at our inaugural Gauteng Investment Summit. Today, R73 billion is now moving from commitment to implementation, creating 114,000 jobs across multiple sectors.
“Last year, Gauteng secured the largest share at the Presidential Investment Summit at over R180 billion, and we expect our performance at this year’s Presidential Investment Summit to be nothing less.
“The City of Johannesburg, along with its Netherlands partners, secured a R7 billion waste-to-energy project.
“With the assistance of our Energetics Minister (Electricity Kgoscientsho) Ramokgopa, all major electrical equipment and appliances will now be built in Ekurhuleni with an initial investment of R2.2 billion, creating 3000 new jobs.
“We brought Chery International car manufacturers to manufacture their cars here instead of bringing them as finished products to our province. This intervention will also bring new jobs and protect the 700 jobs affected by Nissan's restructuring.
“Heineken Global has started construction on a R1.9 billion investment in Midvaal. It's not about malt but about farmers and job seekers. Microsoft invested a R5.4 billion data center expansion in the Midrand-Centurion corridor, positioning Gauteng as Africa's digital gateway.
“We successfully brought a R2.5 billion investment into Chung Fung Metal, which opened its factory doors last month and created over 1000 jobs. This new steel factory has brought the latest technology in steelmaking to our shores.
“The proposed DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) steel plant located in Lesedi Local Municipality represents a major industrial investment, which has the potential to create over 1,000 permanent employment opportunities once fully operational.
“The Gauteng Dry Port is moving towards reality, representing an estimated investment of approximately R50 billion. Once fully operational, it will create approximately 50,000 permanent jobs.
“The Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has secured R1.61 billion in confirmed new investment and remains on track to achieve the 4,000 manufacturing jobs committed to Phase 2.
“The Vaal SEZ, which has recently been gazetted for comments by Minister Parks Tau, is expected to contribute more than R10 billion to the Gauteng economy.
“Lanseria Smart City has secured R4 billion for the Cradle Film Studio, which is set to become the largest film production facility on the continent. The project is expected to create 15,000 jobs, including 10,000 in film production.
“The Tambo Springs SEZ is expected to deliver significant and long-term economic benefits to Gauteng, based on an estimated R23.6 billion capital investment. During the construction phase, the project is expected to contribute and support approximately 50,000 jobs and enable over 1000 new MSMEs.
“Haier-Quicot is investing approximately R2.4 billion in Benoni as part of one of the most significant industrial investments in our province in recent years. This investment secures over 700 existing jobs.”
The Prime Minister said all of these investments are ready and able to help defeat unemployment, totaling just 250,000 jobs, especially for youth.
The Gauteng Economic Growth and Development Plan is a roadmap for economic development. The Prime Minister announced the relaunch of Action Labs for 12 high-growth sectors such as manufacturing, green economy, transportation and logistics.
“We will formally launch the Action Lab on March 19, 2026, which will bring together government, private sector and key stakeholders to transform sector plans into bankable projects, attract foreign direct investment and boost job creation in our high-end sectors.
“Development Industry.”
Lesufi said that in support of international tourism growth, Gauteng aims to open four new air routes during this financial year.
To date, three routes have been secured, namely Flygabon, Qantas Airlines and United Airlines. These routes provide access to three strategic markets including Central Africa, North America and Australasia.
He said with Sasol potentially short of gas rock in this location, Transnet has partnered to build and operate South Africa's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at the Port of Richards Bay, which will transport gas from Richards Bay to Gauteng for the first time.
The converted pipeline will provide imported gas to industrial users in Gauteng, fueling Gauteng's economy.
“Those who came before us in 2012 felt the need to turn to the private market to secure the R27 billion funding to build the Gautrain. By the end of March this year, the private sector will hand over to us a R52 billion infrastructure fully owned by the people of Gauteng.
“To maximize this investment, later this year we will restart the process of extending Gautrain to Soweto, Mamelodi, Springs, Atteridgeville, Fourways etc. We are finalizing the concessionaire for the Gautrain extension for the next 15 years,” Lesufi said.
He said the Gauteng-Limpopo Provincial Rail Link Speed Train has taken an impressive turn.
“More than 30 investors have extended their hands to finance this project. With the undivided support of our President and Transport Minister, this dream is going to be realized in our lifetime.”
He said the province must tackle illegal trade that is crippling the economy. Recently British American Tobacco (BAT) announced the complete closure of its manufacturing plant in Heidelberg, putting livelihoods at risk.
The company attributes its decision primarily to the continued growth of the illicit cigarette trade in the country, which has caused a significant decline in its market share and revenue.
“Together with the police, we are increasing the security of our manufacturing and retail sectors. We have already seized R250.2 million worth of counterfeit goods last year.” – sanews.gov.za