Good for the Economy

There’s no denying that 2020 has been an extremely challenging year – for our country, our economy, and our people. We’ve endured a gruelling six-month national lockdown where both lives and livelihoods were lost. We’ve witnessed a massive rise in homelessness and unemployment across the country, and seen entire industries collapse under a lockdown that many believe to be one of the most restrictive in the world.

National unemployment currently sits at 31%, with Minister Tito Mboweni predicting a rise to as much as 50% in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Economists also forecast that our economy will contract by 7% this year, and that we will miss our tax target by more than R300 billion.

These stats paint a troubling picture, but all hope is not lost. By welcoming, and fast-tracking, large-scale construction initiatives, we’re able to create jobs, stimulate the country’s recovery, and provide much-needed economic relief.

One such initiative is Harbour Arch, our new R15 billion development in the Cape Town CBD. On completion, this 5.8 hectare precinct will house six individual towers with a total 198,000 m2 of usable space, making it the largest and most ambitious mixed-use precinct in the City of Cape Town.

Harbour Arch will create over 20,000 jobs during the construction phase alone, with thousands more in the precinct’s tourism, hospitality, and retail sectors once construction is finished. This will provide thousands of Capetonians with the means to earn a living, while reinvigorating a building industry that has been ravaged in recent years.

Large-scale infrastructure developments like Harbour Arch will no doubt have an immediate material impact on the lives of thousands of individuals, but they’re good for municipalities too. The developer – the Amdec Group – has committed a further R100 million into infrastructure upgrades for our rapidly densifying city, and will contribute significantly to the City of Cape Town’s coffers in perpetuity via taxes & utilities.

Harbour Arch is located on Christiaan Barnard Road on Cape Town’s Foreshore. It will comprise a mix of luxury residential apartments, affordable housing units, commercial offices and blue-chip corporate headquarters, an urban park, street level and 8th floor retail, leisure and hospitality, 2 five-star hotels, conferencing facilities, a flagship health and fitness club, and much more.