By Bianca Capazorio
Property investment opportunities abound in Nelson Mandela Bay and even the Coega project allows developers to get involved.
Speaking at an Absa breakfast focused on property investment, Nelson Mandela Bay assistant director of metro planning Stuart Beattie said that as the second largest metropolitan area in South Africa, Nelson Mandela Bay did pose some development challenges.
The city has an estimated population of 1,1 million people spanning 1 950km². It however, also has an unemployment rate of nearly 40%. The city has a housing backlog of 80 000 units, 38% of the population lives below the poverty line, and it has inherited 12 different zoning schemes from before the amalgamation into one metro.
The city has however passed some major building plans and last year passed plans valued at a record R2-billion.
But very little went to low-cost housing, and Beattie said the figure had probably been boosted by a major commercial development such as a shopping centre.
Coega Development Corporation executive Waseem Mustapha, who handles property development, said that while Coega had up until now been created with public funding, private funding would be needed as the project moved forward.
Mustapha said that developers could either lease serviced land from the CDC and develop their own facilities, or otherwise develop generic or purpose-built facilities such as offices and warehousing.
Coega is in the process of building office and warehouse space and retail opportunities would also exist later on.
Mustapha said that the CDC vision did not include residential units other than those built at the construction village, but further accommodation would be needed.
“As the IDZ grows there will be a dire need for more residential development in that area to cater for those working there,” he said.
The Herald
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
