LAST Wednesday 14 August, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba led the city’s leaders on an oversight visit for a progress update on the R217 billion investment in sixteen catalytic developments underway or being planned around eThekwini.
These included:
- Centrum site development
- Durban Bay Waterfront
- Point Waterfront
- Rivertown
- Durban Country Club
- Beachwood
- Virginia Airport
- Durban Film City developments
- Giba Business Estate
- The Shongweni development including Westown
- Avoca Node development including The Brickworks, North Fields and Caneridge
- Whetstone Business Park
- Cornubia
- Dube Trade Port
- Sibaya Coastal Precinct
- Oceans Mall
According to the eThekwini media release, “eThekwini is set for billions of rands of investment in development projects that will catapult the city into a new era of prosperity. An equally impressive 300,000 jobs are expected to be created by these multi-billion projects.”
These catalytic projects act to boost investment and business confidence in eThekwini, which has a major impact on the economy of the city and the KwaZulu-Natal region as a whole, creating thousands of jobs and boosting the City’s rates base.
Beginning in the Durban CBD, the Mayor was briefed on the Centrum Site Development, Durban Bay Waterfront, the Point Waterfront, Rivertown, Durban Country Club, Beachwood, Virginia Airport and Durban Film City developments, each at different development facilitation stages.
In the outer west, Mayor Xaba visited the Giba Business Estate and Shongweni Developments. The Giba Business Estate is a R2 billion development targeted to further unlock the light industry, logistics and warehousing sectors of the local economy, whilst at the same time providing work opportunities and improved infrastructure for the communities of Tshelimnyama and the neighbouring areas. The Shongweni development is a R15 billion long-term investment which comprises nine precincts made up of retail, residential, commercial, logistics, industrial and business park precincts. The development of the retail and lifestyle centre called Westown Square, kickstarted the development and interest in the region. This first phase will officially open by April 2025.
Xaba said: “The transformation of the Shongweni region is something to look forward to in the future. The Westown Square development served to boost the confidence in the region and was followed by the investment of a R2 billion residential development by Balwin Properties. The 2,000-hectare development zone will create a new city in the west, which is rising from the dust.”
In the northern region, Mayor Xaba visited the Avoca Node development and learnt of new investments on site. The Avoca Development Node is a 15-year programme consisting of three precincts; Brickworks, North Fields and Caneridge spanning approximately 350 hectares which has a potential capital investment of over R10,5 billion. The upgrade to the old North Coast Road is also underway to accommodate increased traffic in the area.
Further north, in the oThongathi area, Mayor Xaba was briefed about the R6 billion Whetstone Business Park and further development in Cornubia, Dube Trade Port, Sibaya Coastal Precinct and Oceans Mall.
The Sibaya Coastal Precinct is situated in the north of Durban within the City’s Aerotropolis region. It consists of seven nodes of mixed-use developments with a range of land uses, including offices, retail, restaurants, educational institutions, recreational opportunities and more, to complement a residential offering. The full development has an estimated investment value of R48 billion and will continue to 2036. It is expected that 70,000 jobs will be created.
The city says the mayor was impressed with the positive impact of the R5 billion Oceans uMhlanga development, which has resulted in improved road infrastructure and enhanced the tourism value offering within the node. The urgency in finalising the implementation of a public transport facility to service the wider uMhlanga area was also discussed.
Xaba said as the leadership of the city, they are thrilled by the developments that the city is implementing in collaboration with the private sector. “This indicates that the plans we have put in place to attract investment are yielding positive results. We are working hard not to prolong the R217 billion investment in catalytic projects that are in the pipeline.
When cranes are swinging and yellow plant moving, people’s hopes are revived. We are happy that Durban has become a construction site, and it clearly shows that we are open for business,” he said.
