Preparations are proceeding as scheduled for construction company Nu-Hold Group’s R6.5-billion Coega Ridge development – a 40 000-home mixed-use housing development adjacent to the Coega Industrial Development Zone in Port Elizabeth (PE), in the Eastern Cape.

Nu-Hold executive director Jordan Mann tells Engineering News that the group received environmental approval for the project in August last year and that it is now in communication with the town planners, with construction scheduled for mid-2016.

He explains that Nu-Hold Group subsidiary Nu-Way Housing Developments, which focuses on low-income and affordable housing, will carry out the development. Nu-Hold Group also owns Krisp Properties, which focuses on high-income residential developments, and Krisp Properties Commercial, which focuses on shopping centres, industrial sites and office parks.

“We aim to help eliminate PE’s housing backlog. In addition to the 40 000 residential units that comprise Coega Ridge, we are planning to make the area a self-sustained satellite city with an industrial park, including office parks; a regional shopping centre; supportive community facilities, such as schools, clinics, a technical college, a satellite university and a hospital; and other commercial facilities,” Mann elaborates.

He states that the group has been experiencing robust growth in recent years, despite the negative economic growth in South Africa, adding that Nu-Hold Group’s three companies are working on several projects in South Africa.

Projects in Progress
Krisp Properies has completed the planning phase for the development of 39 cluster homes in Waterkloof Heights, Pretoria, and also plans to construct a hotel outside OR Tambo International Airport, which Mann explains will be part of the company’s strategy to capitalise on the high tourist activity in the area.

Krisp Properties Commercial recently completed the construction of a 55 000 m2 office park for beverage company Pepsi South Africa at its Clearwater Office Park, adjacent to the OR Tambo International Airport aerotropolis precinct. It also aims to develop a 35 000 m2 office park across from the Bryanston shopping centre, where Nu-Hold Group owns a portion of land.

Krisp Properties Commercial is also developing a 10 000 m2 shopping centre in Olievenhoutbosch, Centurion, coupled with 114 residential stands. Further, the development of an industrial development zone in Olifantsfontein, Gauteng, which will comprise 11 industrial stands, is also under way.

Nu-Hold Group’s recently completed work includes a 21 000 m² gross leasable area, completed in November last year, in Clearwater Office Park development. The group also constructed a railside shopping centre in Langa township, in Cape Town, which is scheduled to open next month. It will boast a 5 100 m² tailored pedestrian shopping centre to cater for the 45 000-plus commuters who use the station daily.

“Construction of the Langa centre comes on the heels of Cape Town’s pedestrianising investment, which involves paving and landscaping the Langa train station forecourt and access roads,” Mann expands.

He says the group’s recent growth follows a report by professional network services provider PwC, which states that, after an average 3.5% increase in new construction last year, the construction industry seems to be strengthening and looks poised to support the country’s infrastructure development.

“Given the strong demand for our services in 2014, we are expecting solid growth in 2015, as the construction industry begins to recover, along with the economy, as many of our developments come to fruition,” he explains.

About Nu-Hold Group
Nu-Way Housing Developments, Krisp Properties and Krisp Properties Commercial have 45 years of collective experience in property development.

Mann maintains that individual attention to the group’s three companies has enabled it to form a diverse property group, which services the commercial and high-income residential markets, and well as the low-cost and affordable-housing market.

The group’s other successes include the Randburg Office Park; Ebony Park shopping centre, in Midrand; and Sandton Office Park, in Johannesburg. Nu-Hold Group has also completed more than 65 000 affordable and subsided housing units throughout South Africa, as well as more than 700 upmarket residential stands at Clearwater Estate, adjacent to Clearwater Office Park.