Four-star hotel on track
Opening set for new year as part of a massive Mthatha development
MTHATHA’s first four-star hotel is almost complete and set to open next year.
The construction of the hotel forms part of Corana-born billionaire and property magnate Sisa Ngebulana’s multibillion-rand development project earmarked for Mthatha and the Eastern Cape.
Phase one of the project was the opening of the BT Ngebs City Mall in Mthatha last year, with phase two including the hotel and office space.
The hotel will have 100 rooms and is located near the mall at the bottom of Errol Spring Avenue in Vulindlela Heights, near the Mthatha Stadium and Mbuqe and Kwezi parks.
Ngebulana’s sister, Vuyokazi Njongwe said the location of the mall and hotel were not only convenient for Mthatha residents, but those travelling through the city would have easy access to them as an off-ramp from the planned N2 would be located at the back of the mall.
Speaking to the Saturday Dispatch this week, Njongwe said there was good progress in the construction of the hotel. “The hotel is coming on very well, and is likely to open at the end of 2017’s first quarter,” said Njongwe.
Ngebulana has single-handedly developed a number of shopping malls in South Africa, including Hemingways Mall, Forrest Hill City, Mdantsane City and Abacus Bay West City in Port Elizabeth.
At the grand opening of BT Ngebs, Ngebulana said the mall represented the start of his 10-year development plan. “We want to work with the city and really do something truly special here. If we could do high-rise accommodation within this precinct, we will create a self-sustaining node within the city.”
BT Ngebs is the first mega mall to serve Mthatha and its surrounds, and shops at the mall include BabyBoom, EarthChild, Guess, Pick n Pay and Crazy Store.
The Billion Group invested R1.4-billion in the construction of the mall and spent R60-million on upgrading roads, sanitation and electricity infrastructure in the area.
Two new roads linking Errol Spring Avenue and the CBD now provide easy access for motorists. Errol Spring Avenue had for years been riddled with potholes so big that motorists nicknamed one the “Jacuzzi”. But the road has been given a complete makeover and is now a dual carriageway. Traffic lights have also been installed to allow pedestrians to cross to a taxi drop-off