Secunda was built to serve the second Sasol coal liquefaction plant, when the country sought to reduce its dependence on imported oil after the 1973 oil crisis.
In 1974, Sasol started to develop the town of Secunda, with the town officially proclaimed in 1976, which is also when the first resident moved in. The town supplies both the Sasol complex and the nearby coal mines. The town has more than 40,000 inhabitants, while the Sasol facility employs over 28,000 people. Outside of Sasol, the town is home to a series of amenities, including the Secunda Mall, schools, including a Curro, a waterpark and Graceland Hotel Casino & Country Club. Around 250,000 people live in the nearby eMbalenhle township, which was established as Secunda’s black-only township in the apartheid-era 1970s.
