During last week's council meeting, the city approved the sale of Blaauwpan Dam, in Kempton Park, to a private company that will build a R3-billion complex there.

Council spokesman Christopher Tsatsawane said the sale would benefit the local community.

'They will have the pleasure of enjoying a much-advanced entertainment centre of a world-class standard and this will be an asset to the community as a whole,' said Tsatsawane.

However, the Democratic Alliance has slammed the price at which the council sold the land, saying it was worth more than R10-million.

DA spokesman Andre du Plessis said the council needed to revalue the land. 'This is the price tag they put to it two years ago. The value must have gone up and we could be using the money to build houses,' he said.

Du Plessis also said residents objected to the use of Ascolana and Mirabel streets during the development because there was an old-age home in one of the streets.

The company responsible for managing the development of the International African Music and Film Hall of Fame Complex said it had raised the funding for the project.

Company spokesman Paul Quigley said they had chosen the site because of its natural lake and because they hoped to attract tourists landing at nearby Joburg International Airport.

'There aren't many places in Gauteng where you can find a natural lake and 77ha of land near an international airport,' Quigley said.

The features of the multibillion- rand complex will include the following:

African Sports Hall of Fame;

Recording studio complex;

Film production facilities;

Auditoriums; and

Hotels

Quigley said that construction of the complex would begin early next year. - Sabelo Ndlangisa

Sunday Times