PHUTHADITJHABA, 9 October 2026 – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Friday three investment initiatives valued by the government at more than 120 billion rand in the Free State province, with projects in renewable energy, electric vehicles and agro-industry.
The largest initiative is a renewable energy project led by YJC, presented as a proposed investment of about 100 billion rand. The presidency estimates it could create 6,500 jobs, without specifying the construction timetable, production capacity or financing structure.
Joylong Automotive, for its part, plans an assembly plant worth about 5.5 billion rand. The project could produce up to 8,000 electric vehicles a year and create 1,500 direct jobs over five years, according to projections released at the launch.
The third project is an apple juice concentrate plant by Walk of Life, valued at about 330 million rand. The presidency attributes to it a potential of 100 permanent jobs and about 600 seasonal jobs, with an expected effect on the local processing of agricultural produce.
The detailed amounts for these three initiatives total about 105.8 billion rand, a lower level than the overall figure of more than 120 billion announced by the head of state. The speech published by the presidency provides no elements allowing the two totals to be reconciled. The figures should also be read as projected investments and potential jobs, not as expenditure already committed or hires already made.
The programme centres on Maluti-a-Phofung and its special economic zone. The zone has sites for 65 factories, of which 58% would be occupied, according to Cyril Ramaphosa. Its location on freight routes linking several provinces and regional markets is presented as an asset for industrialisation.
The government has pledged to improve water and electricity supplies, roads, security at industrial sites and permit procedures. This infrastructure remains decisive for delivering the projects, in a province where the decline of municipal services has contributed to companies leaving since the early 2000s.
For the Free State, the challenge is to complement its agriculture with more processing, packaging and manufacturing. Local apple concentrate production could reduce exports of unprocessed raw materials, while the energy and automotive projects will depend on the developers' ability to finalise their financing and permits.