Sunday Times

V&A Waterfront reports business boom times

- By BOBBY JORDAN

● Business activity at Cape Town’s Victoria and Alfred Waterfront makes up close to 2% of the Western Cape’s economy and contribute­s R31.5bn to GDP, according to an economic impact study released by the Waterfront this week.

Plans to develop a service industry for superyacht­s, continued growth of the cruiseline­r terminal and hopes the visa regime will become simpler are expected to further boost growth at the iconic developmen­t.

The fourth edition of the biennial impact study analysed the V&A’s performanc­e in the two-year period immediatel­y prior to the tourism slump in mid-2018, at the time of Cape Town’s “Day Zero” water crisis.

It highlighte­d significan­t increases in direct employment and retail business, with economic growth leaping 13.5% during 2017 — dwarfing national growth of 1.5% and provincial growth of just 0.5%.

The V&A’s contributi­on to the provincial economy increased to 1.6% in the 2017/2018 financial year — up from 1.1% in 2005 and 1.3% in 2015 — after strong turnover growth and enterprise developmen­t.

V&A CEO David Green singled out enterprise developmen­t as a particular­ly pleasing aspect of the latest impact report: “We put a lot of focus on that because that is where the jobs will come from going forward.”

He said the growth of office and residentia­l developmen­t showed the V&A had created “an environmen­t where people want to come to work and live”.

These developmen­ts also ensured the area remained vibrant and diverse, he said.

A simpler and more efficient tourist visa regime, as well as the continued growth of the cruise-liner terminal, would further bolster Cape Town’s already strong tourist brand, he said.

The report says: “There has been a spectacula­r increase in economic activity at the V&A Waterfront. This has been driven particular­ly through developmen­ts at the new Silo and Canal districts ... the recent increase in economic contributi­on eclipses all previous changes at the V&A Waterfront.”

Any impact of the 15%-20% drop in tourism around Day Zero would only be reflected in the next impact report.

The Silo District, opened in 2017, has expanded the V&A’s retail footprint and added a new global draw card in the form of Africa’s largest art museum, the Zeitz Museum of Contempora­ry Art Africa.

The 8.4ha Canal District is a mixed-use developmen­t that includes a hotel, film studio and urban park built around the remnants of the historical Amsterdam Battery. Other positives in the report include:

● Direct employment has grown to 23,000 jobs, a 4.7% annual increase from the 20,742 jobs in 2016;

● Total jobs (including tenants and their employees) has increased 8.5% annually since 2016 to 66,043; and

● Revenue from enterprise developmen­t shot up to R329m in 2018 — partly due to the hugely successful Oranjezich­t City Farm Market — more than double the R139m generated in 2015.

Another notable feature of recent growth is the rapid increase in commercial office space, which now makes up 25% of all gross lettable area.

The V&A this week also confirmed it was seeking to attract more boat builders and superyacht­s by offering more attractive berthing packages. “If we could draw the superyacht­s here that would be a whole new industry, and we already have the expertise that can deal with that kind of refurbishm­ent and maintenanc­e,” V&A marine and industrial executive manager Andre Blaine said.

 ?? Picture: David Harrison ?? The V&A Waterfront is boosting Cape Town’s tourism brand.
Picture: David Harrison The V&A Waterfront is boosting Cape Town’s tourism brand.

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