End of long wait for Baywest Mall opening
Two-year construction huge boost for local businesses
THE Eastern Cape’s largest regional shopping centre, Baywest Mall, which opens on Thursday, will boast the province’s first ever Checkers Hypermarket, along with a variety of other stores.
After two years of construction, the new R1.7-billion mall will open its doors at 10am.
Spanning 90 000m², the mall’s 250 stores will consist of national and international retailers – with a number of firsts for the province.
Baywest general manager Sonja de Necker said the mall would start trading at 70% to 80% occupancy when it opened.
According to De Necker the mall will be at full capacity by December. “This is how super-regional malls like Canal Walk operate.
“They open with most of the mall trading, and then in the months following the opening more exciting tenants move in.”
The mall’s anchor stores, namely Woolworths, Edgars, Game and Checkers Hyper, will span between 5 500m² and 8 500m².
Other stores opening for trade on Thursday include US Express, G-Star, Tom Taylor, TM Lewin, Wakaberry and Marcels, Anat and the games arcade Nitro Park, which will also boast a bowling alley and a bumper-car circuit.
Impacting positively on the local community, through the main contractors, Murray and Roberts, various SME’s were engaged in the project that saw about 4 500 jobs created during development.
Uitenhage SME Sksma Investments and Trading owner, Siviwe Mandela, said being involved in the construction of Baywest had been an invaluable boost to his company, which started in 2009.
“Before this project I had to hire my equipment and vehicles on an ad-hoc basis. It was costly and meant I had no assets as a business,” said Mandela.
According to Mandela, working on the project had enabled him to purchase equipment and vehicles for his company, “which will stand me in good stead going forward”.
Mandela said at the height of the project he had up to 500 staff members working on the site, mostly from Motherwell, Uitenhage, Joe Slovo and New Brighton.
One of Mandela’s employees, Nombasa Rala, who was hired as a cleaner on site, has since been trained as a human resource manager. “I have learnt so much, and I love the industry. I’m looking forward to working on other projects when we finish here,” Rala said.
According to De Necker the development has been a massive economic boost for the region.
The operational phase of the mall is set to create a further 2 500 permanent jobs.
De Necker said shopper security was of top priority for Baywest Mall “as well as ease of access for shoppers with cars and those using public transport”.
“Baywest Mall has a dedicated public transport drop-off and pick-up point, which we have tailored to meet commuters’ needs.”
De Necker said special public transport access points had been incorporated at ground level, leading to the roofed drop-off and pick-up point.
Baywest Mall’s trading hours will be 9am to 7pm Sunday to Thursday and 9am to 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays, as well as public holidays.
The Fun Factory entertainment facility and restaurants will be open from 9am to 10pm daily.
Other major features for the mall will be the first IMAX theatre for the Eastern Cape, to open in mid-June, and a much-anticipated ice rink for skating enthusiasts which will be fully operational for Thursday’s opening.