MEC for KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements and Public Works, Ravi Pillay, together with Darryl Mayers, Head of Investec Property South Africa and EThekwini Municipality, have officially opened the 65 000m² brand new Cornubia Mall near Mount Edgecombe. The Mall opened its doors amid much fanfare and excitement from shoppers and retailers alike on the 28th of September 2017.
“The opening of Cornubia Mall, marks a major milestone for its investors, eThekwini Municipality, the various stakeholders and the people of this community. It is the manifestation of blue sky thinking that can be achieved with partnerships between government and business,” said Cllr Sipho Kaunda, Chairperson of the City’s Economic Development and Planning Committee, in his address at the launch event.
“The Mall, set within the Cornubia Presidential project, acts as a link between a number of communities from varied economic backgrounds and heralds opportunities for employment, skills transfers, economic growth and development. The role of this Mall, together with other developments in the near future, must continue to carve out new ways of addressing the economic disparity that is still widespread across our City. We are happy as eThekwini Municipality to see that the Mall has taken up the charge and continues to work with its local communities in creating a sustainable Cornubia community.”
“Now home to over 110 retailers, we are thrilled to see the Mall completed after 8 years in the making – from acquiring the land until the doors were opened today, this has been an immense project,” said Mayers.
“This indoor/outdoor mall was designed with activities and experiences for the whole family in mind and offers world-class shopping, entertainment and an outdoor lifestyle for an active community. We are thrilled to have been able to save a 112-year-old historic Natal Fig tree and incorporated this into the mall to offer a great viewpoint of the entire centre,” said Mayers.
“There is room for further growth of the mall and there is already a plan underway for a 20 000m² expansion in the future. The second phase will include a further 70 stores that would be added. The mall has brought infrastructure, jobs and skills transfer and improved transport to residents within the Cornubia development and surrounding communities. We estimate that it will create about 1 100 permanent jobs, while at least 2 500 temporary jobs were created during construction. We encouraged the retailers to employ from the surrounding communities. To date we helped 1 100 people with work readiness programmes and just under 300 people were hired. This will be an ongoing journey to create local employment opportunities,” Mayers added.
Cornubia is a joint venture between the National Department of Human Settlements, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements, eThekwini Municipality and Tongaat Hulett Development. When complete, the establishment will boast 28 000 mixed income housing units, light industrial factories, retail parks, schools and various businesses.
