The South African Cabinet has ratified a decision by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to designate the Maluti-A-Phofung (MAP) logistics hub, in Harrismith, in the Free State, an industrial development zone (IDZ), further approving the granting of operator permit for this zone to the Free State Development Corporation.

The designation would result in the establishment of a logistics-orientated platform 10 km outside of Harrismith, primarily to service the automotive, light manufacturing, agro-processing, distribution and logistics sectors.

The Harrismith hub had become part of a key nodal point of the Durban–Free State–Gauteng Corridor, which was identified in the 2005 National Freight Logistics Strategy approved by Cabinet. According to the DTI, the MAP IDZ would become a multi-sector processing, manufacturing, engineering, logistics services, transport and logistics complex, serving the needs of the upstream value-adding, beneficiation, processing and production service companies operating across sectors and geographical areas in Southern Africa.

The zone would further look to provide efficient IDZ and customs-controlled area operations and processes that would facilitate timeous and cost-effective operations for international and domestic investors.