Name and Location
Baywest City development project, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Client
The development of the mall is a joint venture between Abacus Asset Management and Billion Group.

Project Description
The Baywest City is a 320 ha ‘city within a city’, which is expected to be developed over the next 15 years and will comprise 6 000 residential opportunities, secure office parks, private schools, hospitals, a light industrial node, parklands and conservation areas.

The Baywest mall is the catalyst for the Baywest City development and will involve the construction of an 87 500 m² regional shopping centre, with 250 retail outlets, a Fun Factory, an ice rink, a food court and designer stores.

For ease of access, four main entrances will be constructed and double-level structured parking will surround the mall, providing ample parking close to the entrances.

Infrastructure in the area will also be overhauled. This includes a multimillion-rand road network upgrade, which will link Walker drive with Old Cape road and the construction of a brand new interchange on the N2, at the doorstep of the mall. This new road network will bring any household in Port Elizabeth to within 20 minutes of the Baywest Mall.

The Baywest Mall and surrounding Baywest Precinct will be monitored with the latest camera security system. Linked with a fibre-optic network, the alarm, detection, scanning, infrared and recognition platform will secure all aspects of precinct life.

Value
R6-billion.

The mall will cost an estimated R1.7-billion to build.

The Baywest roads development project is estimated at R300-million.

Duration
The mall is expected to open its doors in early 2015.

Latest Developments
The construction of Baywest Mall has resulted in the employment of about 4 300 workers on site since construction started in mid-2013, which is a 43.3% increase on the 3 000 direct jobs that developers had initially forecast for the construction phase of the project, according to independent auditing firm BTKM.

By the end of 2014, Baywest’s construction milestones included the completion of the Baywest Mall’s 65 000 m² roof and the bridge over the N2 highway, which is part of the Baywest roads development project.

Basil Read is on course to complete the first phase of the road development project by March. This includes linking Port Elizabeth’s western suburbs to the N2 highway by extending Walker drive, in Sherwood, with a multilane road that will encircle the mall.

“The entire roads project will be complete by September, when Cape road, in Bridgemeade and Rowallan Park, is linked with the N2 via a series of on-ramps and off-ramps that will lead to Baywest Mall. The roads development is set to unlock crucial economic growth in the western suburbs,” says Baywest MD Gavin Blows.

Meanwhile, the fittings of many of the 250-plus Baywest Mall stores were already under way by the end of 2014, and everything was on schedule to hand over the stores to the major tenants in January.

Further, landscaping is under way at Baywest Mall, such as the planting of coral trees in front of the mall, with completion expected in March. In keeping with the mall’s focus on the environment, indigenous gardens will be created around the mall.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Mawethu Civils (civils work) and Basil Read (road construction).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Baywest Mall, tel +27 21 886 5262 or email info@baywestmall.co.za.
Mawethu Civils, tel +27 41 363 0862/7, fax +27 41 363 0962 or email admin@mawethu.co.za.