A sod-turning ceremony on Tuesday, 27 March signalled the official commencement of the R300 million promenade extension development which is expected to be completed in June 2019.
The promenade extension is a catalyst to the R35 billion Point Waterfront Development which will be undertaken in three phases over five to 10 years.
The extension will unlock phase one of the Point Waterfront that will include a hotel, shopping centre, offices and residential blocks. The entire Point Waterfront project, which is a public and private partnership venture, is expected to create 11 000 jobs during the construction phase per annum and provide an estimated 6 750 permanent jobs after completion.
To position Durban as an attractive City to live, work and attract more investment, eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede today, 27 March hosted the sod turning ceremony for the multi-million rand beachfront promenade extension development. #InvestDurban pic.twitter.com/X68Dpdxe6O
— Invest Durban (@InvestDurban) March 27, 2018
At the ceremony, Mayor Zandile Gumede said it was encouraging to note the growing interest from the business sector to work with government in major strategic investments. She said the Point Waterfront would completely change the landscape of Durban and position it as a global city and boost its tourism profile.
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The city expects the development to increase local existing property values in the area by about 10 per cent and the overall central business district property values are expected to rise by five per cent. Once completed, the rates revenue generated for the municipality is expected to amount to more than R200 million annually.
“The Point Waterfront Development must be seen in the context of a city-wide development process, indicating that Durban is on the brink of change,” said Gumede, adding that the overall national public revenues that could be derived from the revised development through various tax mechanisms could amount to an additional R1.7 billion.
“We are also anticipating that this economic activity will generate billions of rand in the gross domestic product contribution,” she said.
City Manager, Sipho Nzuza said when he started his tenure in eThekwini, he vowed to fix the development bottlenecks in order to attract foreign investment as they had proved to be the key driver for jobs and growth.
“To sustain this development that will contribute significantly to growing the tourism profile which is one of eThekwini’s identified growth sectors, we have invested in the Urban Inner City Renewal Programme,” he said.
ALSO READ: Work to begin on R300m promenade extension
Nzuza described the Urban Inner City Renewal as a watertight programme aimed at ensuring safety and cleanliness around the inner City which would restore investor confidence and further stimulate investment from business.
Soban Bavarah, an international investor from Malaysia, who is behind the Point Waterfront Development, thanked the Municipality for its commitment to ensuring this development takes-off and continues to grow.
“The beachfront promenade extension will not only support the Point Waterfront Development but will also benefit beach goers and the general public,” he said.
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