Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said in Parliament last week that transport utility Transnet would offload its investment in the "noncore" V&A Waterfront development, along with various other disposals from other state organs.

Erwin also said such sales by the state would have a strong broad-based black economic empowerment component.

Andy Tondi, a member of the executive committee of the South African Institute of Black Property Practitioners, says it will not only be a "huge boost" to black economic empowerment, but also to the objectives of the institute, which aims to transform the property industry in SA.

"This is how government should be leading the way in the transformation process."

Tondi says the institute hopes the public works department, SA’s biggest landlord, will follow this example.

There are not more than 10 wholly owned black property companies, and the V&A Waterfront sale will go a long way to encouraging the start-up of black property businesses, he says.

The institute believes that "he who owns property controls procurement (of service provision to properties)", says Tondi

"If the ownership of a property that is so big (V&A Waterfront) is black-empowered, it would ensure the services to the property are given to other black- empowered companies."

Stuart Chait, CEO of Cape Town-based Property Partners, which owns Southern Palace — the subsidiary that bought Johannesburg’s mixed-use development Melrose Arch for a record R1,27bn — reiterated his earlier comments that the group would be interested in providing funding and equity to assist black economic empowerment groups to purchase the V&A.

"We have the equity and mezzanine finance to help black economic empowerment groups, as well as the skills to unlock the value," says Chait.

He says the sale of the V&A Waterfront will "go a long way for the economic development of Western Cape".

"Historically, the V&A has been developed very, very slowly. The demand is there to roll out all the unutilised bulk and land," says Chait.

"The right way to go is for it to fall into the hands of various black economic empowerment groupings, and then to create one company in which they are all shareholders, and unlock the value," he says.