Cornubia Mall opens for business

Local government

Ravi Pillay,the MEC for KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements and Public Works, together with Darryl Mayers, Head of Investec Property South Africa, and eThekwini Municipality,  officially opened the brand new 65 000m² Cornubia Mall near Mount Edgecombe in KwaZulu-Natal.

“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 Councillor Sipho Kaunda, Chairperson of the City’s Economic Development and Planning Committee, at the launch of the new development.

“The mall, set within the Cornubia Presidential Project, acts as a link between a number of communities from varied economic backgrounds and offers opportunities for employment, skills transfers, economic growth and development.

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 eight years in the making – from acquiring the land until the doors were opened today, this has been an immense project,” said Mayers.

The indoor/outdoor facility offers an experience for the whole family and offers world-class shopping, entertainment and an outdoor lifestyle for an active community.

“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 will 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.

*Article from eThekwini Municipality.