Westown development partners sign a R2-billion agreement
eThekwini mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda joined the Westown development partners, Fundamentum Property Group and Balwin Properties, on-site to see firsthand the progress of Westown Square as the City has invested R600 million into bulk infrastructure.
WITH just under a year to go before the official opening of Westown Square, the investment of the new 100-hectare ‘City of the West’ is powering ahead.
Set to open in early 2025, the construction of the Westown Development was launched about a year ago by the Fundamentum Property Group, along with stakeholders in the community and the eThekwini Municipality.
The new City of the West is located 5km from Hillcrest, 30km from Durban Port, 50km from Pietermaritzburg and 56km from King Shaka International Airport.
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On Thursday, April 18, eThekwini mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda joined development partners, Fundamentum Property Group (FPG) and Balwin Properties (BP), on-site to see firsthand the progress of Westown Square.
This comes as the City has invested R600 million into bulk infrastructure in the region.
Kaunda also witnessed the signing of a R2-billion agreement between FPG and BP for an eco-estate residential development.
He said the City has invested close to R600 million towards the bulk infrastructure required to support Westown.
“This investment will yield huge returns for the City. Once completed, Westown Square will generate approximately R21 million per annum in rates income, increasing to more than R500 million per annum after completion of this R15-billion urban development in 2037,” he said.
The mayor explained that the 15-year strategic catalytic Shongweni Urban Development consists of nine mixed-use precincts in total.
“Westown Square will be complemented by commercial, residential, logistics and industrial components, including a private hospital. We are excited that this is going to be the first real Smart City in the province and will make eThekwini a world-class city.”
He said the socio-economic impacts of this investment have been tremendous. To date, 1 000 people, mainly from the area and surrounds, have been hired for the construction of the bulk infrastructure and Westown Square.
CEO of Balwin Properties Steve Brookes said approximately 8 000 jobs are expected to be created during the construction phase of the Shongweni Eco Park with around 500 permanent jobs to be created on completion.
Carlos Correia, CEO of Fundamentum said Westown is the single biggest infrastructure investment by the municipality since the Soccer World Cup in 2010 and brings significant socio-economic value to the Outer West region.
Also read: Road to Westown sees upgrade of Kassier Road
Infrastructure upgrades include two new bridges and a total makeover of the existing two-lane Kassier Road across the M13 and N3 into four lanes with a centre median.
While the M13 bridge will be rebuilt, a new pedestrian bridge is being added over the N3, along with a new loop ramp and bridge over Kassier Road, providing direct access into Westown.
Correia said that R1.4 billion of private sector investment has been triggered through the investment by Fundamentum with Absa Commercial and Investment Bank (Absa) backing the 50 000m² Westown Square retail experience.
“This investment was cemented as Balwin signed a formal agreement with Fundamentum for their 1 260-apartment lifestyle estate, which will be comprised of 20 phases, to be built over the next few years and is due to launch later this year,” added Correira.
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