Durban -The holidays are here and according to Eskom no load shedding is planned for the festive season.
With hundreds of vehicles heading for the coast, KwaZulu-Natal is set for one of its best festive seasons yet.
Eskom spokesman, Khulu Phasiwe, said: “Our generators are back online and the system is now stable. If nothing changes, we won’t be implementing load shedding over the festive season.”
Zinhle Mngomezulu of the Provincial Road Traffic Inspectorate said the province’s roads were busy, with about 2 000 cars an hour going through the toll plazas on the N3 yesterday.
“We are experiencing high volumes of traffic from Van Reenen’s Pass to Durban, and the numbers keep increasing,” said Mngomezulu.
Phillip Sithole, head of Durban Tourism, said 95 percent of hotels were already fully booked. He said the city was expecting to see at least 1 million visitors during this period.
“Despite the load shedding during the past few weeks, spirits have not been dampened. Our malls are still buzzing and events are taking the city by storm. We are really excited about the festive season boom,” said Sithole.
Fedhasa East Coast operations manager, Charles Preece, said major hotel groups were expecting a 12 percent to 15 percent improvement on last year.
“We are expecting a bumper festive season, which is very positive for the province.”
But that’s not all. There are several plans for the new year that will change the face of the Durban shoreline.
This includes a signature 30-storey building, inspired by Dubai’s Burj-Al-Arab, the third-tallest hotel in the world, to be built in the Point area.
The beaches on the Bluff are set for a major revamp, and plans to develop the Virgina airport site into a mixed-use facility could include a seven star hotel. An unsolicited bid has already been made on the property.
City spokesman Thabo Mofokeng said: “A report on proposals for best uses for the site is being developed and will be ready in the new year. The decision has been made to move the airport and whatever is built on the site will be in the best interests of the city and its ratepayers.
“It will benefit residents, attract new investment and increase the rates base which is what the city needs,” he said.
eThekwini Speaker, Logie Naidoo, said it was the city’s vision to become South Africa’s tourist mecca by 2022.
Naidoo sits on the board of the Durban Point Waterfront Management Association and said plans included upmarket hotels and restaurants, more flats and a new terminal for cruise ships.
“We are aiming to have the entire development completed within the next eight years,” said Naidoo.
He added the city would like to have the development ready in time for the Commonwealth Games, if South Africa was selected as host.
Andrew Layman, chief executive of the Durban Chamber of Commerce, said
: “The Point development is nothing new, it is part of the progression which was started some time ago.
“However, with the global recession, development stalled so it’s great that it is going ahead agai
n.
“It will attract the right people and developers to the city.”
- Sunday Tribune