Asimile Siyaqhuba - City's Proactive Land Release Strategy Unlocks Massive Opportunities

 

CITY’S PROACTIVE LAND RELEASE STRATEGY UNLOCKS MASSIVE OPPORTUNITIES

SIGNIFICANT gains have been made under the City’s Land Release Strategy, which falls under the umbrella of the Property Valuations and Management Directorate which is led by Thapelo Mmusinyane.

Highlighting these achievements is the City’s Five-Year Service Delivery Milestones campaign being rolled out under the theme: Asimile Siyaqhuba: Resilience Through Adversity. The campaign highlights transformative efforts that have shaped service delivery during the 2021 to 2026 term of office.

The Land Release Strategy was implemented in 2021, and stands as a proud enabler of empowerment, economic impact and success, particularly along Durban’s Beachfront. The strategy aims to enable growth through partnerships, stimulate investment, support small business development, all while advancing spatial transformation.

The beachfront has evolved into one of South Africa’s most compelling urban economic success stories where design, data, and development work together to generate measurable financial value.

Durban’s experience challenges the notion that public spaces are cost centres. They are, in fact, city-scale revenue generators driving measurable returns through rates, rentals, and reinvestment. The promenade’s consistent visitor growth, coupled with a strengthened trading mix, demonstrates how thoughtful urban design can turn municipal assets into engines of inclusive economic growth.

Between 2018 and 2025, monthly footfall along the promenade has grown from an average of 770 000 visitors to more than 1.3 million. In 2024, the precinct recorded 14.5 million visitors, the highest annual total ever measured. By mid-2025, year to-date counts had already exceeded 11.7 million. These are volumes comparable to the country’s top regional malls.

A shining example is the old Circus Circus, which was renovated to a stunning fusion of Africanism and Art Deco and is now the Durban Beach Café. The vision of this establishment was to create an iconic tourism destination restaurant while capturing the spirit of the City. The existing Joe Cools building, a 1700 m² structure that has served the beachfront for over four decades, has reached its functional limit. The data now supports its replacement with a new 4000 m² building, a modern, glass fronted development with expanded terraces, upper-level dining, and flexible event zones designed for year-round activation.

Additionally, the City has received a R1 billion commitment from the Southern Sun Hotel Group to redevelop the iconic Maharani and Elangeni Towers. The billion-rand capital investment will be broken down to R622 million on the upgrade of the Elangeni and Maharani, R157 million on movable assets and R348 million on two additional hotels owned by the same entity. This is in line with a functionality requirement that required bidders to further invest on the Durban beachfront precinct.

Another R5 million will be invested towards the development of the Sunken Garden, which is a municipal park on the beachfront. Just a stone-throw away from these hotels, will be the billion-rand, breathtaking Durban Amusement Park, which was announced in December 2025. The project is being led by a Durban based, 100 percent black owned firm with more than 17 years’ experience in delivering large-scale urban development projects. The development is expected to create approximately 900 construction jobs and over 500 permanent jobs in operations, hospitality, technical services and entertainment programming.

The City has also recently released various strategically located properties across Durban with a combined market value exceeding R360 million, covering 18 hectares. These properties represent a diverse mix of industrial, commercial, mixed-use, and hospitality opportunities.