Much-awaited mall opening soon

OUT of the ashes of the ill-fated Tongaat Mall where a section of the under construction building collapsed and claimed the lives of two workers and injured 29 others in November 2013, a new edifice of hope has arisen.

Residents of Tongaat especially are expected to be the main beneficiaries of the oThongathi Mall project, which promises jobs, boosted local village economy and access to some national retail chain stores.

Provided there were no further delays, the first phase of the shopping complex was expected to open at the end of November and the forecast for completion was the end of March.

The ruins and all of the old mall were purchased by BBB Properties, a family-owned business, in 2019.

After completely demolishing the remaining structures, BBB Properties have since worked on rearing the oThongathi Mall, which, once completed, will provide nearly 18 000m² of retail shopping floor space and almost 450 parking bays.

Johan Botha, a BBB director, confirmed the mall would open in stages from November, and that Checkers and Shoprite would be anchor tenants on their gross lettable space (18 000m²), among other national chain stores, banks and smaller shops for local businesses.

“It was not a challenge to sell floor space, most tenants were on board since 2018.”

Botha said they were not put off by negative perceptions associated with the property they bought.

The previous owners and associates of the Tongaat Mall were controversial businessman Jay Singh, who is now dead, his former wife, Shireen Anamalay and son Ravi Jagadasen.

A Department of Labour inquiry was instituted after the mall disaster caused the deaths of 51-year-old Zwelibanzi Masuku and Zakithi Nxumalo, 28.

It was established that the neck of a column exploded, which resulted in the collapse of the concrete slab it supported, in a section of the mall.

The commission also learnt that there were various contraventions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and construction regulations at the building site.

“We adopted a positive outlook and considered the end result. If the mall opens, everyone trades and everything is in place, whoever comes here will have a pleasant experience in a clean and safe environment.”

Botha said they engaged with the relevant stakeholders, did their own feasibility check and once they were satisfied with the number of national tenants they would have, a deal was struck.

“It was important, on a project like this, to also do a marketing feasibility to determine the buying power of the community and we learnt that such a mall was very necessary.

To ensure the construction of the mall was in accordance with the required norms and standards, Botha said they hired various engineers and other experts, who were first vetted.

“All work must be signed off by municipal inspectors to ensure compliance.”

Various factors delayed and challenged the project, including limited working space as the site was located in the CBD with main roads around it.

“As the developer we had to build Wadd Road (running across the mall’s main entrance) and we are required to upgrade the R102 (Gopalall Hurbans Road) to contain the traffic flow.”

Botha said Gopalall Hurbans Road will comprise four lanes, a pedestrian walkway and a set of traffic lights will be installed at the intersection of Wadd Road, which will also have four lanes.

He said upgrading the roads was intensive work because various fibre network cables, stormwater, electricity and sewer pipelines had to be moved.

Tongaat’s water problems since the April floods forced the contractor to bring water on site using tankers.

Botha said they engaged regularly with residents about the road construction, noise and pollution issues, the local ward councillors and affected businesses.

“We are managing most of it, unfortunately the road design was determined by the eThekwini Traffic Authority. But we are working through the challenges”

Before Botha and his crew started with the demolition of the old building, which had to be done according to strict regulations, they held a “cleansing ceremony” which was a walkabout session conducted by people from various cultures and religions.

He said they were in talks with various role-players and leaders on how to possibly recognise those who died in 2013.

Don Perumall, chairman of the Tongaat Civic Association, said they anxiously awaited the opening as the project would create jobs and improve business vibes in the area.

“We are in support of the mall. We lost two large chain stores and jobs during last year’s looting. The floods caused further job losses. The mall will provide a boost.”

Perumall said there were some concerns raised by residents and business owners about the configuration of the road upgrades, which have been addressed with the mall’s management.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE