Mall site visit sparks construction interest among learners

In less than 80 days and counting, the long-awaited mall will open its doors.
The assessment has taken almost seven years for developers to ascertain if the mall will be functional and profitable to the area. Project manager Herman Stassen invited local media houses, as well as schools, on a site visit on Wednesday last week. The learners were excited to see and learn more about construction and the ‘behind the scenes action’ of building the mall that will be the biggest consolidated retail offering in an almost 100-kilometre radius of Vryheid.
Stassen said that construction is one of the biggest job creators in South Africa. He broke the process down to explain it to the learners – when the project started as unoccupied land that was zoned as farmland. They had to buy the land, which in turn involved a financier and banker, then a lawyer’s expertise was called in, a project planner had to start with the planning of the mall, which included an architect, a surveyor, engineer, town planner, and that is just the beginning of the process before the actual construction work starts. During the construction process, the Princess Mkabayi Mall has been home to approximately 1200 employees. When the mall actually opens, approximately 600 to 800 people will have permanent jobs. He continued by saying, “Even though you may think that Vryheid is a small town, the mall is a huge deal for the town. It means development and growth for Vryheid.” He referred to the Middelburg Mall that was built in the middle of an open field 10 years ago, compared to today where a new development was created with different businesses around the mall, turning it into a business hub. The cost of the Princess Mkabayi Mall project is approximately R600 million from start to finish. The tour sparked a lot of questions from the learners about construction and engineering, which Stassen in turn patiently answered.

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The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.