The Durban beachfront promenade extension, part of the city’s R35 billion Point Waterfront Development, which includes the new Durban Cruise Terminal, is on track for completion in November next year.

The comments were made this week by Philip Sithole, acting deputy city manager for the economic development and planning cluster. The extension of the Durban beachfront began in January this year and is the first in a three-phase five-year plan to entirely overhaul the Waterfront area.

The project starts from uShaka at Moyo Pier and is a continuous elevated structure spanning 750 metres in length and 30 metres wide reaching the Northern Breakwaters at the harbour entrance channel.

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On the northern side beach facilities and amenities will include change rooms, ablutions for bathers and staff facilities, according to Afika Ndima, Project Executive in the office of the Deputy City Manager of Economic Development and Planning.

There will also be restaurant, café and boutique retail spaces, and an amphitheatre located in the centre of the promenade serving as the main beach eventing space.

Public parking and dedicated parking for clubs will be provided underneath the promenade.

The second phase of the Point Waterfront Development involves the development of the Durban Cruise Terminal, while phase three includes a residential tower, retail mall and hotel.

The entire project is aimed at enhancing Durban’s appeal as a tourist destination, with the cruise sector an important target market.

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“[When the project is finished] we will truly be positioning Durban as a ‘Smart Port City’ and a world-class cruise capital,” says Shulami Qalinge, CEO, Transnet.

The Durban Cruise Terminal will sit directly adjacent the redeveloped Waterfront, giving cruise passengers easy access to the city’s new tourism attractions and amenities, such as hotels, boutiques and of course the city’s famous Beachfront.

The project follows similar redevelopments of cruise facilities undertaken in major cruise capitals like Miami, Port Canaveral, and CapeTown.

In Dubai, the current Port Rashid cruise port is being redeveloped, alongside the development of an entirely new cruise port.

Andrew Pike, head of the Ports, Terminals and Logistics group at pan-African law firm Bowmans, says the new cruise terminal and redevelopment of the surrounding area is essential to growing the local cruise market.

“There isn’t a large cruise ship industry around Africa, mainly because of poor facilities,” he says. “The Durban Cruise Terminal will be a new and iconic structure in Durban, with international-class cruise facilities that link up with existing tourist attractions such as uShaka Marine World, offering cruise ship passengers a ‘whole’ experience.”