Durban Eye project ‘to start in July’
THE eThekwini Municipality has said the Durban beachfront is set to get a boost with the Durban Eye project.
The city said the multimillion-rand Durban Eye ferris wheel project would be built along the promenade and was expected to launch in February next year, ahead of the Easter holidays.
“The developer of the R450 million Durban Eye has been appointed and expected to start on-site in July. This (ferris wheel) will offer tourists a spectacular 360-degree panoramic view of the city. The 60m-high attraction will boast 30-36 eight-seater cabins. The full rotation of the wheel will take 20 minutes. Retail businesses will surround the structure,” said a statement issued by the city.
According to the city, this development, which will be situated at the southern end of the beachfront, bordering the harbour entrance channel, intrigued many Travel Indaba delegates, including international media.
“The site looks toward the Bluff headland and will welcome cargo and passenger cruise ships into the newly built passenger cruise terminal, the KwaZulu Cruise Terminal,” the city said, adding that its position aimed to attract visitors to the city centre.
Nkosenhle Madlala, who is the chairperson of the city’s Governance and Human Capital Committee and represented eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda at last week’s Travel Indaba, said delegates were impressed by the tourism projects in the pipeline.
“Durban’s story is one of resilience against all odds. We hosted key target markets to explore the city’s newest tourism product offerings in various regions.
“Many were impressed and want to come back,” said Madlala.
The city said the Indaba was a success, with a direct projected spend of R29m. There were 655 exhibitors, 126 African products were showcased, and 19 countries from the continent, including South Africa, were present.
It said another exciting development in the pipeline was the opening of the 200-bedroom Radisson Blu Hotel at the Oceans project in uMhlanga ahead of the winter season next month.
“The R650m hotel has 20 000 black investors, and the city will spend R100m on public transport facilities and the upgrade of nearby roads. The overall investment is more than R1 billion from the private sector,” the municipality said.
In addition, the city said it continued to work with the region’s route development committee to attract more international flights to Durban and to enhance intra-Africa trade.
“The plans include reactivating the Air Namibia flights and reigniting talks with Qatar and Emirates airlines to fly direct to Durban again.”
Royal Eswatini Air is due to start flying to King Shaka International Airport, Monday to Saturday, from next month, while the commencement of direct flights on the Air Link route from Harare to Durban three times a week started in March.