Water damage caused the sudden partial sinking of Umdloti’s Marine Walk Mall rooftop parking area in February.

At the time, the area was swiftly cordoned off while engineers launched an investigation to determine the cause of the failure, as well as how to prevent it from reoccurring.

This week, Devmco project manager Jeremy Bentham confirmed engineers had identified the cause and repairs are underway.

“Water found its way into the joint between the wall and the asphalt. The layerworks has been removed and the layers below have been tested. Results have shown there is no problem with the layers below and the affected area will be reinstated with a seal to prevent this from occurring in future,” he said.

He said repairs should take about four weeks, barring weather disruptions.

The mall opened its doors 17 months ago in November 2022, six months after the catastrophic April and May 2022 floods that struck mid-construction.