Durban prepared for bright future
Africa’s biggest promenade to play a key role
NEW RESIDENTIAL complexes, hotels and a brewery are on the cards for Durban next year.
As thousands of visitors stream to its beaches and malls before New Year celebrations, Durban’s extended promenade was on display. At 8km and stretching to Ushaka Marine World, it is expected to play a key role in the developments that will start at the Point Waterfront. Worth at least R3.5 billion, they will be phased in over 10 to 15 years.
ethekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said beer manufacturer Heineken would establish a brewery in the west of the city.
He said greater co-operation between various sectors would boost stability and be key to bolstering investor confidence.
“We want industry to know that water and electricity will be supplied without disruption.”
Kaunda said the municipality would tap into the wisdom of academics to boost economic growth. The council also wanted to work with communities to build trust and thereby bring down crime. Another priority was to encourages citizens to strengthen their family structures so that they could be resilient.
He said one of the ways in which family values could be renewed was by investing in education.
Durban’s Inkosi Albert Luthuli
International Convention Centre is set for another busy year. One of the events will be the international Women and Girls Summit in June. The ICC website says the aim is to prepare women to “take on key leadership roles in all areas and across all industries to ensure that Africa realises its full potential”.
Nkululeko Mthembu, the chairperson of the Durban Chamber Youth In Business Forum, said the city was positioning itself as a health tourism destination. It was ideally placed to do so as a result of its high quality of life, rising output of health-care practitioners, affordable tourism packages and standard of living.
He said the cruise terminal to be constructed in the Durban port would draw more tourists.
Highlighting the growth opportunities in Kwazulu-natal, Premier Sihle Zikalala said all sectors would benefit from the billions of rand pledged in the priority sectors such as manufacturing, tourism and property development, renewable energy, health care and agro-processing.
He said the province would benefit from R200bn in investment project opportunities with a potential to create more than 499 017 jobs. Several conglomerates announced expansion projects like the R6.5bn project of Richards Bay Minerals’ holding company Rio Tinto.