Eastern Cape National African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) is courting PetroSA in a bid to secure economic spinoffs for Transkei from their R100 billion Coega refinery.

The refinery, expected to operate in 2015, is aimed at securing the country’s supply of liquid fuels.

It will produce 400 000 barrels of fuel a day and create about 18 500 jobs during the operational phase.

Nafcoc invited PetroSA to East London on Thursday for a conference where the National Oil Company’s vice-president of operations, Dan Marokane, told them about business opportunities that will come from Project Mthombo.

Nafcoc is hoping some of these opportunities will be available to the Transkei particularly in the labour intensive production of bio-fuel in the agricultural sector.

Marokane added there would be about R3bn set aside for the procurement of goods and services from BEE suppliers across the province.

“It is an exciting project because there are plenty opportunities for the Eastern Cape with all its potential players.

There is also the opportunity in that the refinery is also moving towards bio-fuel, which could be done mostly in the rural areas,” said Marokane.

Nafcoc president in the province Justice Zothwa said it was an opportunity they had been waiting for, particularly for the agriculture industry in the rural areas where bio-fuel could be explored.

The project will also see about 27 500 jobs created during the construction phase in 2010.

It is projected that houses and new roads would be built to accommodate about 35 000 people.