The opening followed the sale of land worth R140m in phase one, which adjoins the canal system.

Operational since the beginning of the year, the canal serves as part of the water reticulation system from the adjoining R750m uShaka Marine World development.

Timeball Square will anchor several of the exclusive residential and retail developments. Groundwork has already begun for some of the developments, including The Quays on Timeball, The Palms, Dolphin Whispers, The Sails and Point Bay.

Several of the consortiums representing these projects have been assembled by black entrepreneurs, including two women, Nandi Mandela of New Ground Investments and Manana Nhlanhla of Mion Investments. Nhlanhla is also Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal chairman.

Residential units constitute about 60% of the usage with the balance made up of retail, offices and hotels. Land prices of up to R2000/m² have been achieved, which is higher than similar upmarket developments in Umhlanga. The apartments are fetching prices between R1m and R4,5m.

Durban Point Development Company chairman Mzi Khumalo said the public-private partnership arrangement had created a world-class property project for the city.

"In addition to the sale of land, further development expenditure by the private sector of R800m in buildings, fixtures, furnishings and fittings is expected over the next three years during the construction," he said.

The long-awaited Point waterfront rejuvenation project came to the market through a public-private partnership between the eThekwini municipality as the majority shareholder; Rocpoint, a joint venture between Malaysian-based Renong group and local empowerment company Vulindlela Holdings; and land developers Moreland.

Phase one represented the sale of 135000m² of bulk land, while a further 275000m² will be released from next year.

An integral part of the future development phases is the establishment of a small craft harbour adjoining the entrance to the main harbour entrance at Vetch's Pier.

"The small craft harbour (will add) enormous value to the adjoining beachfront land, " Khumalo said.

The National Ports Authority's R1,5bn plan to deepen and widen the harbour entrance is expected to begin in April .

Timeball Square takes its name from the original time ball installed at the Point between 1860 and 1880. The time ball, which dropped at noon each day, was used to assist in synchronising time pieces, particularly for ships waiting to enter the harbour.