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The Western Cape’s trade and investment company Wesgro has reported a record start to its financial year, with the group securing R5 billion in investment off the back of a major real estate deal.
Wesgro said that it also has 22 new projects into the pipeline, with Cape Town and the Western Cape seen as lucrative investment destinations, particularly in the Information Communication Technology (ICT), manufacturing, real estate, green economy, energy, and tourism sectors.
The group said that it expects these and other developments – including a new Amazon headquarters – to create over 40,000 jobs in the area.
The city has approved over 20,300 building plans worth R21 billion since the start of Covid-19 lockdowns on 27 March 2020 to 15 July 2021, said James Vos, mayoral member for economic opportunities, tourism and asset management at the city of Cape Town.
“Major new developments approved by the city worth 40,000 jobs are set to fuel Cape Town’s economic comeback, including Harbour Arch (R14 billion), the V&A Waterfront Canal District (R4 billion); and the River Club to be anchored by Amazon’s Africa HQ (R5 billion).”
Amazon HQ
In April 2021, the City of Cape Town announced that it had greenlit the multi-billion-rand River Club mixed-use development, which will be the new home of retail giant Amazon in Africa.
The development design intends to create a 150,000 square metre mixed-use space, divided into commercial and housing uses across two precincts. The developer intends 31,900 square metres to be used for residential purposes.
The city said that the development will include both market-driven and affordable housing opportunities – the latter of which will be physically integrated with the other residential units in the apartment complexes.
It is envisaged that 5,239 jobs will be created in the construction phase alone. The project will also create up to 19,000 indirect and induced jobs, it said.
Other parts of the development include:
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59,600 sqm office space;
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20,700 sqm retail space;
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8,200 sqm hotel;
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4,100 sqm gym;
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Restaurants, conferencing, school and events space
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The developer stated that 20% of the residential floor space will be allocated for affordable housing opportunities.
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US retail giant, Amazon, will be the anchor tenant, opening a base of operations on the African continent.
“The planned mixed-use development will be a significant boost to the economy and the people of Cape Town in the aftermath of the national Covid-19 lockdown,” said city mayor Dan Plato.
“The city has carefully and thoroughly considered all of the submissions and concerns during the appeal process. We are acutely aware of the need to balance investment and job creation, along with heritage and planning considerations.
“It is clear that this development offers many economic, social and environmental benefits for the area. We are committed to driving investment to revitalise the economy, which is slowly recovering following the impact of Covid-19,” said Plato.
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