WORK on one of the city’s lauded Catalytic Projects, the eThekwini Film City on the beachfront site formerly occupied by Natal Command, has still not broken ground despite media reports last year claiming the project was given the green light and construction was expected to commence.
The R7 billion project will be developed on the prime 21ha property that is still partially owned by the SANDF.
At the time, City Manager Sipho Nzuza explained that the municipality was actively pursuing the transfer of the entire site from the state back to the City.
He said while this was being undertaken, the city had agreed to allow Durban film-maker Anant Singh to go ahead with the construction of the film studio.
Nzuza said Singh would occupy only a section of the land. He confirmed that the other section of the property had not yet been transferred back to the municipality due to delays by the Department of Defence.
At a council meeting this month DA KZN Caucus Leader, Councillor Nicole Graham, raised the matter with the Speaker, Councillor Lekgoa Mapena.
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According to Graham the Natal Command site was sold to Singh in 2003 with the aim of having the eThekwini Film City operational by mid-2018, however since no construction had taken place and the project remained on the City’s list of Catalytic Projects, she wanted to know where the development stood.
Graham asked whether Singh was the current lawful owner of the Natal Command site, and what obstacles were hampering construction.
She also asked whether the city still considered the development a Catalytic Project considering it was stagnant. She also enquired when work on the development was likely to commence and when city officials thought it would be complete and operational.
“I was told that Anant Singh is not the lawful owner of the entire site as a portion of the land is still owned by the Department of Defence. This is apparently the current obstacle to development as the City can’t seem to come to an agreement on who owns the land. The City still views this as one of its Catalytic Projects, however many of these projects have been in the same state for years but nothing happens. These projects are meant to drive economic upliftment and employment,” said Graham.
She said the municipality was still unable to say when work on the site would start.
About eThekwini Film City
Anant Singh is the owner of Videovision, a production company which produced iconic local films such as Sarafina!, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, the Oscar-nominated Yesterday, and Cry, the Beloved Country in addition to 81 other films since 1984.
The project was first conceptualised over 15 years ago with the aim of developing Durban’s film industry.
The studios will comprise sound stages and production workshops, television studios for live broadcasts, editing suites, a back lot set area, and a museum of South African Cinema.
The project will generate numerous opportunities in the film sector and will create more than 5 000 jobs.
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