Massive change to Durban

[dysan1]

So over the past few months we have seen a massive change to the city from a new stadium within a wonderful precinct setting. A fantastic new airport. A revitalised Florida road. Basically a new beachfront altogether. A new new harbour mouth. The on-going Point development. The growing NTC in Umhlanga.

All these developments have taken place and opened in a very short space of time and on the surface have totally changed the face the city shows the world.

Lets chat about what this means, and now that they are complete, where the big focus will be going forward?

Poll: This impact could be economically, brand image, future potential etc...


Would be awesome to hear why you voted for each one

[Durbsboi]

Nice thread Mike! much needed one to hear everyones views.

For me its hard to chose one, each has its own purpose & adds to making the city better for International investors.

1. Beachfront: Lets face it, we dont have a mountain so this is our biggest assets. Its the draw card for tourism so the redevelopment will do wonders for the city with the exposure coming up in June/July. Our warm weather & the temp of the waters being warmish during the winter month will go down well with the visitors so its only good that our draw card being the promenade is up to scratch.

2.Harbour Mouth: SA's busiest port, much needed interms of growth for the port. Allows mega carriers to enter & exit our harbour. Durban has the potential of being Africa's busiest port even though we not exactly located in the right part of Africa, lots of countries in South Africa depend on getting stuff via us, so this can only do the city more good.

3. KSIA: Its the first thing International tourists will see we coming to Durbs. Lets face it, many wont hire a car & drive down, with low cost airlines flying is the way to go. If they were greeted by DIA, it would just be a mess with the amount of people crammed into that small baggage claim area then the headache of trying to find a taxi or rent a car etc... KSIA is huge compared to DIA, much cleaner design, smooth flow to get on and off a plane, split level arrivals & departures make things less chaotic & the terminal itself doesnt make you feel like you in an airport. besides the passenger terminal, the cargo area & Dube city will take off interms of air freight coming into Durban. As I mentioned our port is pretty busy with countries in the Southern Africa region getting goods via us, some smaller firms might opt for their items once arrived at the dock to be flown to them instead of waiting to be trucked up or via rail.

4. The Stadium, the reason I joined this forum was because of this. At the time the official document that got us the WC had a planned expansion of ABSA Stadium, Moses was much needed as the latter didnt meet FIFA's requirements on many levels. Many moan at the price tag but judging by prices in over sea's countries a stadium of this magnitude came at a steal for us. The added attractions & shops around the place make it more of a public space than that only used for sporting events or large gatherings. The entire precinct has changed withing the past 2 years. I mentioned it many times in the stadium thread that as you drive through NMR ave, you dont feel like you in Durban.

5. The Point: Our waterfront couldnt be located anywhere better. Its a massive plot of land thats just crying out for high class developments. Unlike CT who are crammed for space, we have lots of it so things can be spread out instead of crammed next to one another. It has huge potential & maybe the lack of development so far can be a good thing for the city seeing that the WC will bring exposure to the city so you never know who could be watching.

anyway, I chose the beachfront, as I said, its the cities major asset & about time its getting a revamp!

[SharksBoy]

no multi choice. So i would choose KSIA & Stadium.

[annman]

I say KSIA. But one may say, it's only a gateway, not a destination. It's not even in Durban proper.

However, without an effective gateway, no city can grow. It doesn't help having massive tourism and commercial investment if the means for the tourism and commercial incentives to be there do not exist. An effective way to "connect to the world" is the only way a city can take the giant leap from regional city to globally recognised city.

I think KSIA will be the biggest catalyst for Durban's growth. And my personal opinion, I think once the Beachfront, stadium and Point upgrades catalyze the regeneration of Durban's CBD and the greater urban core, that will be the day one can say: Durban Has Arrived. It's getting ever so close!

*kinda like Durban's ke nako moment.*

[romanSA]

Ooooh, nice thread, and tough bunch of choices! I would have also added the Umhlanga, Cornubia, and Bridge City (or, collectively, the Northern Corridor) to the list. Will factor this suggestion into my ratings below.

Each of your options spells major benefits for the city, with some being largely unknown or invisible to the average person (harbour reconfiguration) while others are *highly* visible (stadium, new airport, beachfront).

I'll divide my rankings in terms of three themes:

A. Impact on local and national economy

1. Harbour widening (now caters for larger ships; as a result, Durbs will entrench its status as gateway to Southern Africa).
2. Dube Tradeport and KSIA (Dube Trade Port, in particular, will impact on SA economy as its the only one of its kind in Africa).
3. Beachfront upgrade (through tourism).
4. Point Waterfront (in the future, once the precinct is complete: through tourism).

B. Aesthetics and branding

I feel these developments will positively impact on Durban's brand and image the most, and result in more events and tourists coming to the city:

1. MM Stadium (the city has a new global icon).
2. Beachfront (world-class; may even attract high-income tourists that have been flocking to Umhlanga since the mid-1990s).
3. Northern Corridor (especially Umhlanga, which is already making a very positive impact on the city's image).
4. Point Waterfront (will be world-class upon completion and will attract high-income tourists).
5. Florida Rd (charming and fantastic heritage district for the city).
6. KSIA (looks great; world-class, and will allow for direct international flights to the city).
7. Harbour improvements (looks great; more importantly, will hopefully result in permanent passenger terminal at the edge of the Point Waterfront).

C. Mass-scale impact on local standards of living

1. Northern corridor (excellent town planning; will result in mass job-creation; the resultant new rates and tax base will also translate into valuable revenue for the city; this, in turn, can be used to improve other areas of the city).
2. KSIA (through job creation opportunities).
3. Harbour (increased trade, resulting in job creation opportunities).
4. Point Waterfront (will result in new high income tax and rates base for the city, which will translate into valuable revenue for the city; this, in turn, can be used to improve other areas of the city).

[dysan1]

Thanks for your posts guys.

I am still undecided, the overall combined impact i feel is almost "revolutionary" for the city. I know i could have included a number of other projects like Umhlanga (ridgeside, NTC), Cornubia (R25billion is not something to be sniffed at), Bridge City joining communities, the controversial Warwick redevelopment, the redevelopment of the old DIA site, the Natal command development into film studios (when the court cases are out the way)...one could go on and on...

As you guys have said above they all have very different, but interconnected improvements for the city. The stadium is the icon the city has been needing for years and you have to congratulate the city leaders for delivering this. The overall precinct is a bonus in my mind and an added tourism element for the city and a playground for its citizens.

The beachfront redevelopment dove tails greatly with the stadium and then the point...connecting a seamless golden strip that has the potential now after this upgrade to really make a mark globally...and i am sure that this will lead to building upgrades, new developments (miliatary musuem site - zoned for massive bulk and up to 40F).

The airport and tradeport while incredibly impressive and now provide the right "global city" entry for Durban, are just that, the gateway, its the other attractions that will play the main part in driving this city forward. That said the Dube tradeport i believe has the potential to drive significant synergy with the harbour in pushing logistic based growth for the city along the lines of Dubai and Singapore which both have these multimodal platforms.

All in all the city is becoming much more livable, much more polished and much more "sellable" to the global market. Use Durban as your base and explore KZN. There is now a proper reason to spend time in the city.

It seems that so much has happened in one time, so sudden and widescale you almost have to take your breath, take a step back and appreciate it.

But where to now? big projects on the horizon is over 100,000m2 of development starting at the point on the "superblock" development which will finally shoot that area into a destination and will add well to ushaka.

Then there is the redevelopment of DIA, another potentially enormous project.

The opening of the bluff headland...

Cornubia is about to start and has far reaching implications on a far wider scale than Umhlanga ridge and Bridge city.

Bayhead port expansions and island view.

Whats next? Very good things it seems...

[dysan1]

Oh and after much internal debate i chose the Stadium and precinct simply due to the iconic nature of the stadium that has forced millions of people to notice and try find more info about the city. Its the icon we have needed for decades.

The beachfront, airport, florida road all just add to that.

People need to know you, to consider investing or visiting and the stadium arch plays a huge role in building that element - so is that cost justified under those terms? IMO without a doubt yes!

[Project Director]

I voted for the Harbour-DHEW, because well, i built it.

however, it has a proven track record and sustainable buisness case over the last 150 odd years.

The other projects dont have sound cases and therefore in simplistic terms are a drain on resources that could be used on other meaningful projects.

will check back in about 35 yrs time to see if i`m right.

PD.

[dysan1]

cant underestimate the power of an icon development in investment/tourism flow though, just look at Dubai's focus on icons