By Ntando Makhubu

Buffalo City received an early Christmas present when the Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs gave the go ahead for the construction of a R2 billion Golfing Estate in Gonubie.

The five-year Billion Group project is set to start early in the new year, on 420 hectares of land which was once an old sand mining area with little agricultural value.

Ted Keenan, managing director of GSM, the company which will handle the estate's sales and marketing, said the high profile estate would feature a five-star hotel and spa, conference facilities, 789 houses and a golf lodge.

Not only will the estate be a major tourist attraction, GSM's director Joe Jongolo said, it would also create direct and indirect employment for 5000 people during the construction period, and an additional 2000 after completion.

According to Jongolo, the benefits of the development would also trickle down to small businesses, especially when the need to provide transport and other facilities for the estate arose.

"Buffalo City Municipality's economy is ready for capital investment of this kind, to bring in much needed revenue in forms of spending power and taxes", he said.

The Billion Group, chaired by East London-born entrepreneur Sisa Ngebulana, is also responsible for the ongoing construction of the R2m Hemingways Mall and the R5m Mdantsane Mall.

Ngebulana has already spent over R40m towards realising his dream of alleviating unemployment by building the province?s first golfing
estate.

He had already spent millions over three years in preparing his environmental plan, which received praise for its comprehensive approach from the environmental authority.

Describing the planned development as exciting news for Buffalo City, BCM?s director of development and planning Craig Sam said it
had the potential of elevating the status of the city to that of a golfing mecca rivalling other golfing developments.

He said: "This will attract national and international tourists and boost the city's standing."

Sam said golfing estates created jobs for many people during and after construction.

This new development, coupled with the Chintsa development, a proposed golf course for Kidds Beach and the planned upgrading of existing golf courses could make a difference in unemployment rates.

The planned estate, Keenan said, would be built in four phases, the first two scheduled for completion by early 2010 and the last two by 2012.

They had already received offers for investment in the estate.

He said interest had come from within and outside the province, but East Londoners who lived overseas had also shown an interest in acquiring a stake in the development.

He said they were aiming for a 70 to 30 percent local to out-of-town occupation of their houses, and people from overseas would feature in the 30 percent.

In addition to the golf course, the estate will have swimming, tennis, squash facilities and an upmarket gym and spa.