New R300 million Durban Point promenade to extend Golden Mile and become a big tourist attraction!
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – Significant progress has been made with the beachfront promenade extension to ensure it is launched in time for the 2019 festive season
Once the extension is completed, the promenade will stretch from Blue Lagoon all the way to the harbour mouth and is expected to contribute vastly to the Municipality’s goal of positioning Durban as an attractive City to live, work and play.
Deputy City Manager for Economic Development and Planning Phillip Sithole said: “This project is one of the Municipality’s pride and joy. It will surely lure investors.”
Sithole said the City is pleased to note that there have been no hiccups thus far and that everything is on track. He added that once the promenade is fully extended, no City in the world will match the beauty and class of the Durban beachfront.
He said they now looked forward to the planting of dune vegetation and landscaping which would soften the concrete structure and its surrounds while acting as the first line of defence for windblown sand and wave run-up.
“The Point Waterfront Promenade Extension will be a key asset to our tourism sector. It is one of 25 catalytic projects being implemented and is a powerful demonstration of the commitment eThekwini has to transform the global and investor landscape of our city.
Practical completion is expected by the end of October 2019, and the promenade will be ready to receive the hundreds of thousands of locals and visitors alike in time for the festive season. The completion dates are in line with the original construction programme and the city’s desire to have the promenade opened to the public ahead of the 2019 festive season,” he said.
The whole project, a public-private partnership, will be completed in three phases over five to ten years and will create 11 000 jobs in the construction phase and 6 750 permanent jobs once it’s completed.
The project is broken up into six precincts:
Precinct 1: This precinct will mainly be residential with a portion of it being used for retail.
Precinct 2: This precinct is located close to the uShaka Marine Theme Park. The concept is to link the new residential, hotel and retail development with the uShaka retail.
Precinct 3: This plot has a lot of historical buildings that were warehouses used in harbour activity. They will potentially be bought off and redeveloped into a variety of hotel, retail and commercial developments.
Precinct 4: The part is situated at the Harbour Entrance channel and offers wonderful views of the ships moving in and out of the harbour. This precinct will also be developed due to its unique location and link to the promenade.
Precinct 5: These sites will offer immediate beach access and views across the harbour. The will be a new loop-road system to help with traffic movement and opportunities to open up restaurants and tourism-related activities along the boulevard and promenade.
Precinct 6: The focus is to have a high-tech commerce and business centre that is integrated with the Public transport node and parking facilities.
Construction of the promenade began early last year with the project being a catalyst to the R35 billion Point Waterfront development which will be undertaken in three phases over the next five to 10 years. The new section of the promenade will feature facilities such as ablution places, club facilities, lifeguard towers, and change rooms and will unlock phase one of the Point Waterfront which will include a hotel, shopping centre, offices as well as a residential component.
To see the plans for what the upgrades are expected to look like click here, or check out some of the progress photos below:
by 