South Africa launches small harbours programme for coastal towns

Public Works and Infrastructure Deputy Minister Sihle Zikalala will on 31 October 2025 officially launch a programme to build new small harbours in neglected South African coastal towns and will hand over Special Economic Zone (SEZ) designations to site the investments.

• Main announcement: The Deputy Minister will launch a landmark programme and hand over the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) designations to designate areas and sites for the infrastructure investment on 31 October 2025; the department names Port Shepstone (KwaZulu-Natal) as the new small harbour site, with additional harbours planned for the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape.
• Background and programme links: The department states these will be the first new harbours since the dawn of democracy, align with government priorities on job creation and regional economic development, and form part of existing initiatives including District Development Model, Eastern Seaboard Development, N2 Corridor, and Operation Phakisa (Oceans Economy); the SEZ handover is intended to create a project pipeline for harbour and coastal infrastructure development.