Millions for Tzaneen’s new centre

“A total of nine business stands have been laid out for development of an open space business node for Tzaneen,” local businesswoman and developer, Willemien Roettgers told the Herald. “We are ready to commence with construction of a McDonalds adjacent to Sasol, which will be followed by another drive-through in phase 2 of the development. The erven between Sasol and the river has been sold to a consortium of doctors whom are looking to complete a medical centre within this year still.

”It is anticipated that the McDonalds will be operational by the beginning of August this year and the medical centre at the end of the year. She said the other erven in the development belong to the developers of Total and KFC which will also be developed in the near future. A large network of services had to be upgraded to enable the road that will service the development to be built. “This included securing of the river banks, building a bridge, filling of soil, upgrading of stormwater and then construction of the road,” she said.

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Greater Tzaneen Municipality (GTM) spokesperson, Neville Ndlala, told the Herald previously that the municipality had an agreement with the developer whereby she applied for the commercial centre project to be approved. She undertook to do the construction upgrade of the Bert Booysen (off Boundary Street) Street going towards the R71 road which was completed on June 25. The total investment for the development totalled to R22 million in 2021, Roettgers said. Dr Elias Maowasha, a Tzaneen doctor, confirmed that they will be building a medical centre on the premises.

It will be called The Tzaneen Doctor’s Centre. “For now, I can confirm that the medical centre will have a large pharmacy retailer, a diabetic clinic, X-ray facilities, Lancet Laboratories, surgeries for specialists such as an urologist, a psychologist, a dietician and a podiatrist. “The centre will start operating from December this year and the total investment is estimated at R44 million of which R34 million will go towards the construction.” They paid R10 million for the land, he confirmed.

During a GTM media engagement last week Thursday, GTM mayor, Gerson Molapisane confirmed the development, saying that it will benefit the municipality and its residents. “We need to make sure that our streets are clean and safe as no one will want to bring their business to a place where their investment cannot be facilitated successfully,” said the mayor. He said he will work unabatedly towards a situation where infrastructure is of such that it will attract developers.

In another meeting, Molapisane recently met with André Thomas of Thomas and Swanepoel to discuss a range of developmental issues in Tzaneen. Thomas and Swanepoel represent the Resilient Group which owns Tzaneng Mall, Tzaneen Crossing and Tzaneen Lifestyle Centre. The law firm also represent the owners of the new R71 development. “The two parties agreed to work together in order to unlock opportunities for locals and create to create employment. We are very excited about the coming developments,” said the mayor. It is understood that the Resilient Group is also looking into upgrading their investments in Tzaneen.