Saldanha is also an industrial and touristic destination with its extensive beaches, but tourism is held back by challenges like the red dust.
There are high expectations of what the region can mean, not just for Saldanha Bay but also for the country, in terms of green energy and development. The growth of industry and the town of Saldanha has been a complex process before, during and after apartheid, with both state-driven intervention and large-scale private sector investment. As detailed, by the 1930s, agriculture and commercial fishing were established there, with military operations expanding from the early 1940s. Sea Harvest – still Saldanha’s largest employer today – was established in 1964.The Saldanha port – Africa’s deepest natural port – is run by Transnet Port Terminals .
There are also plans to repurpose ArcelorMittal, South Africa’s steel factory. The factory was established in the late 1990s and became one of the largest employers in Saldanha. It was mothballed in 2020 – largely due to pressures of South Africa’s national electricity and port crises – leaving large-scale unemployment and despondency in its wake.
There is another world though that is so often invisible when talking about “big” plans in South Africa and which offers a way to ensure that no one is left behind – economies that prioritise local communities, players and enterprises.a national network of fisherfolk called Coastal Links, s