Shoprite Checkers Properties is to undertake a R25-million retail development in Khayelitsha, a black township outside Cape Town.

Located in an area called Makhaza, the development represents a continued shift in the mind set of retailers by moving into previously disadvantaged areas rather than concentrating in glossy centres. Another national retailer, Score, has made considerable inroads into the previously disadvantaged areas.

The Khayelitsha centre will offer 7,500m² of trading space and about 2,500m² will be occupied by Shoprite.

There will be space for 34 other tenants including restaurants, fast food outlets, clothing, furniture and video stores, pharmacies, doctors' rooms, a liquor store and a BP fuel station.

Building is scheduled to start next month, and the shopping centre should start trading before the Christmas period. The new Shoprite store will employ 120 people, and the line shops another 200.

The centre is in line with Shoprite Checkers Properties' regional expansion programme, and was planned in close consultation with the Khayelitsha Development Forum, says Shoprite's director Brian Weyers.

Source: Business Day