Housing in Southern Africa October 2015

News

Coega Ridge development

T he developers have been given the go ahead to break ground on themulti billion rand Coega Ridge fully integrated housing estate between Motherwell and Coega near Port Elizabeth. The mammoth de- velopment will address the Eastern Cape’s housing backlog. J ordanMann Executive Director of Nu-Way, the de- velopers of Coega Ridge, announced that the project was on track to break ground in 2018 with the backing of the Coega Development Corporation (CDC). “This project will alleviate Nelson Mandela Bay’s housing backlog of 87 000 units by almost half, through the construction of 40 000 housing units,” said Mann. “Not only will Coega Ridge help to make a substantial dent in the metro’s housing shortage, but as the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) attracts more and more busi- nesses, Nu-Way will be able to roll out housing opportunities in order to accommodate employees working in the area.” Mann anticipates providing

various housing typologies across the residential spectrum. The catalytic project will provide 5 000 employment opportunities per month during the construction phase and the entire project will cost R20 billion. Work is due to commence in 2018. A new waste water treatment plant has been planned for the Coega IDZ, adjacent to Nu-Way’s Coega Ridge development site and is a huge boost for the housing project. “The sewer pipeline will run from Coega toMotherwell and thiswill help to unlock the greater Coega Ridge project,” said Mann. The developer has been working closely with municipal and provin- cial stakeholders for several years to make the project a reality. Nu-Way Housing Developments was given the green light to develop the 3 200 hectares of land along the R335 to Addo by the provincial Department of Economic Development, Environ- mental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT) and to proceed with town planning for the project.

Coega Ridge will include commu- nity facilities, schools, university, technical college, hospital, shopping precincts and a 110 000 m² regional shopping centre. “The project’s civil engineers, Aurecon, are confident that there are enough services in place to roll out phase one, which includes 5 000 housing opportunities. However, the bulk waste water treatment works in the IDZ will unlock the greater devel- opment,” said Mann. Award-winning housing specialist, Lance del Monte says that this mega project will certainly address the housing backlog. ■