New Sibaya development

Ballito’s top property brokers eagerly welcomed Tongaat Hulett’s (TH) release of the first parcels of land for development within the much anticipated Sibaya Precinct.

TH said in a press release that the eastern component of the SP (nodes one to five) had full development rights that is expected to inject R8 billion into the North Coast economy, create 7 000 permanent jobs and generate R100 million in annual rates.

TH Development managing director, Mike Deighton said last week at the launch at Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom that current developments like Izinga and Zimbali have been completely sold out and the unprecedented growth of the KZN North Coast, specifically between Umhlanga and Ballito, has turned the region into some of the most sought-after real estate in South Africa.

Welcoming the news, Seeff Dolphin Coast sales director Tim Johnson said: “The launch of the Sibaya precinct has come at the right time for our local property market. The project has been spoken about in various forms for a number of years now, but with establishment of the King Shaka International Airport, immense growth of the Umhlanga Ridge precinct, increasing investor confidence since the global financial crisis in 2008, and an insatiable appetite for upmarket residential property between Umhlanga and Ballito, Sibaya is sure to provide the inevitable and much needed bridge between these two booming towns.”

Remax Dolphin broker-owner, Simon Peacock said he was excited to see the big players taking bold development steps. He described the development as exceptionally exciting, not only for the property industry, but also for the North Coast as a whole.

“The development would contribute greatly to the North Coast’s testimony of being the biggest growth node in the country, exceeding all expectations as far as socio-economic factors go and we at Remax Dolphin are ready to take the North Coast property market to the next level alongside the developers who bring their products to the table,” he said.

The 750 hectare Sibaya precinct already has all the rights in place for nodes one and five situated east of the M4, and construction and development can start immediately. At the launch, TH released three out of five investment packages available within node one, bordering the coastal dune forest.

“The vision is for a compact, mixed-use urban development, enhancing sustainability by reducing the spatial footprint of the overall development and reinforcing the natural landscape with generous open space,” said Deighton.

Real integration of urban and natural development that each reinforces the other is high on the development’s priority list.

With the development surrounded by three pristine forests covering 350 hectares of some of the only coastal dune forests found outside of the Isimangaliso Wetland Park in Northern KZN, TH will set up a conservation trust to look after the coastal dune forests.

They said the three packages released would see the construction of 650 sectional title units and 28 200 square metre stands for new homes ranging between 1 000 and 1 500 square metres. They said provision has also been made for 9 000 square metres of commercial and retail space as well as 900 hotel rooms to be built.

TH said they will build the main boulevard access road and heavily landscape the surrounding areas as well as be responsible for connecting water, sewer and electricity to the site boundaries for developers. They also promised to establish management structures to enhance land and property values.

Spectacular sea views, discreet walkways through the forest, coupled with privacy and unobtrusive security are some of the development’s prime drawing cards promised by TH.

Deighton invited developers and investors to submit proposals by the end of August.