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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
MARCH
2016
PROPERTY
>
Brian Ive, a development executive
at Tongaat Hulett Developments,
said that a number of sales had
been concluded recently and that
construction of two of these developments
was due to begin during the first quarter of
2016. So far, half of the sites within the Bridge
City Town Centre have been sold while there
are just four sites available in the 17-hectare
Bridge City Business Estate.
Bridge City is being developed as the
second leg of the Effingham Development
Joint Venture Public Private Sector Partner-
ship between the eThekwini Municipality
and Tongaat Hulett. The first was the highly
successful Riverhorse Valley Business
Estate. However, while the latter is primarily
industrial with a single hospital, Bridge
City is a mixed use development that will
provide for light industrial use as well as
accommodate medical, commercial, retail
and residential elements.
Holistic planning
Ive said that the holistic planning of the area
catered for each of these crucial elements
and was expected to make a significant
contribution to providing employment for
and uplifting communities within the neigh-
bouring Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu
(INK) area. He added that, as the civils and
services contract for the Business Estate had
been completed, construction of new projects
could now start.
Bridge City is expected to mainly attract
companies within the retail, residential,
warehousing and logistics sectors due to
its close proximity to major arterial routes
and to the King Shaka International Airport.
Major infrastructural upgrades that include
construction of a half diamond interchange
off the M25 that will provide dedicated access
into Bridge City and to Phoenix Industrial Park
and upgrades to the road network around
Bridge City, will further enhance this.
“We believe that infrastructure delivery
is key and will go a long way to establishing
Bridge City as a centre of excellence in an area
that was previously under serviced,”
Ive commented.
Provision of medical services
The provision of good medical services will
also do much to uplift the INK communities
and transform the Bridge City area into an
integrated human settlement.
Construction of the Dr Pixley ka Isaka
Seme Memorial Hospital, a 500 bed state
hospital that forms part of the KZN Depart-
ment of Health’s Hospital Revitalisation Plan,
began in February 2015 and has already
reached the second floor level. “The structure
will be complete by the end of 2018 with
finishing and commissioning expected in
2019. It will open at the end of 2019, creating
massive job and residential development
opportunities within Bridge City,” Ive said.
Recently, three town centre sites along
Bridge City Boulevard opposite the Magistrates
Court have been sold for the development of
a 150 bed private hospital. The design review
process is completed and plans are being
submitted for approval, with construction of
this facility expected to begin early in 2016.
Already there are plans to construct resi-
dential accommodation above the Bridge City
Shopping Centre as well as on the northern
side of the retail complex. However, the
greatest opportunities for investors will come
via mixed use developments to accommodate
additional medical facilities and practices,
legal chambers and associated professional
services. Ive said top end services suitable for
professionals, including a fibre optic back-
bone will be put in place.
He noted that the highly successful Bridge
City Shopping Centre that anchors the Town
Centre and offers 68 000 square metres of
retail space to major retail brands and chains,
is the precursor to other retail developments.
Ithala owns the site between the Ntuzuma
Magistrate’s Court and the new state hospital
and plans a mixed use/residential devel-
opment. Further retail developments are
expected to follow shortly.
Crucial services such as the Magistrate’s
Court, the hospital and the offices of various
government departments are expected to
increase the footfall through the area.
Transport
However, the key to creating a thriving regional
precinct and attracting investors will be the
development of Bridge City into one of the
city’s largest inter-modal transport facilities.
On completion, it is expected to be the second
busiest transport interchange in the city,
second only to Berea Road/Warwick Junction.
The Bridge City railway station which is
located underneath the Bridge City Shopping
Centre was commissioned in early 2014. Pres-
ently 22 trains are running to and from Bridge
City to the Durban CBD.
The first phase of the GO!Durban inte-
grated rapid public transport network (IRPTN)
is also well underway and expected to be
completed in 2018 with Bridge City as the
meeting point for three bus rapid transport
(BRT) corridors linking it to the Durban CBD,
Pinetown and Umhlanga. The City’s bus
terminal adjacent to the Bridge City Shopping
Centre will be upgraded to accommodate the
BRT’s mega and midi buses.
It is anticipated that, once Bridge City
is fully developed, the railway station/
inter-modal facility will accommodate
approximately 100 000 commuters every day.
The BRT line to Pinetown (currently under
construction and due for completion at the
end of 2016) and a third linking to Cornubia
and Umhlanga and another ultimately to the
King Shaka Airport, will ensure that Bridge
City becomes a hub of Durban’s public trans-
port connectivity in the near future.
BRIDGE CITY
attracts investors
Development at Bridge City to the north of Durban
is gathering momentum with the precinct not only
emerging as a key investment location but also as a
strategic regional precinct and transport hub.
In the foreground is the Bridge City Business Estate, the magistrates court behind, on its left
the state hospital. At the back to the right is the shopping centre. The land in front of the
shopping centre is mixed use.