Mandeni Local Municipality covers an area of approximately 545 square kilometres and is located coastal municipality situated about 100km north of eThekwini and 80km south of Richards Bay. It lies along the N2 national corridor, as well as the north-south rail link connecting the economic hubs of Durban and Richards Bay. As such, the municipality is strategically located to provide services to, and derive economic benefits from these economic hubs.

“Mandeni is the main hub of manufacturing complexes in the District, with Isithebe Industrial Estate housing 45% of the manufacturers in the District.”

• Predominantly rural in character with Ingonyama Trust land accounting for the majority of its landmass, the municipality is home to Mandeni town and Sundumbilli township, which are its only major economic nodes that function as service centres.
• Isithebe industrial estate offers cost-effective production space, with import and export commodities outside the region linked to the harbours of Richards Bay and Durban.
• The SAPPI Tugela Mill is also located within Mandeni and both the Mill and iSithebe provide opportunities to grow and attract large scale manufacturing and heavy industry to the municipality. The municipality is well-positioned to participate in the momentum around a multi-modal logistics platform for the Durban-Richards Bay corridor.