Mooi River is poised for economic revival with a new R4.5 billion investment in a multi-faceted property development project.
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The Mooi River area is set for economic revival with another investment totalling close to R4.5 billion earmarked for the area.
A new multi-billion rand property development project in the Mooi River Valley is expected to break ground in 2027, with a completion timeline of between five to ten years.
The developer stated that the project would be built around three centrepieces: a premier golf course that will attract international tournaments, proximity to the N3 national route for access and convenience, and well-established local boarding schools Treverton College and Weston Agricultural College that will attract local, national and regional learners looking to excel in the field of agriculture, agribusiness, animal health, and animal sciences.
This development is the second to be announced in the past few weeks, bringing the total investment earmarked by private investors for the area to close to R10 billion. It was recently announced that another investment of close to R5 billion for a dry port and agri-industrial park was earmarked for the area.
The dry port aims to create a logistics hub where goods coming from Johannesburg will be offloaded from trucks and taken on trains to Durban for their final hour of transport. The same process will apply when goods are being transported from Durban.
The Mooi River Valley developer, Richard Kelland, director of Cedar Falls Properties, detailed the vision for the property development. He has developed two other golf estates in the country, including the Matumi Golf Estate in Nelspruit and the Victoria Country Club Estate in Pietermaritzburg.
He said this is a substantial multifaceted project that will transform the Mooi River area. Kelland mentioned that his development seeks to combine the existing strengths and assets of the Mooi River Valley, such as the premier boarding schools, a strong and prosperous commercial beef and dairy farming community, a growing black commercial and communal farming community, and proximity to the N3 transportation corridor.
A key part of the development’s success will be an upgrade of the existing nine-hole Mooi River Country Club golf course, which will be transformed into an international standard 18-hole championship golf course, capable of hosting national and international tournaments, with a luxury hotel at the heart of the expansion.
Kelland said that to design and build the new golf course, he will enlist the services of renowned United States golf course designer Brandon Johnson, who led Arnold Palmer’s golf course design company for 12 years before branching off on his own.
“Brandon has designed, upgraded, and built some of the iconic courses in the States, and is keen to work in Africa, and specifically in South Africa. With his experience and skill set applied to this golf course, we intend to attract international tourists and tournaments to Mooi River,” he stated.
Treverton College and Weston Agricultural College will together form the educational pillar of the development, with strong linkages to Bruntville schools and the surrounding rural schools which already deliver a very high level of education, thanks to the dedication and efforts of local educators.
Kelland noted that they are also partnering with the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa and local communal farming communities, which could benefit by boosting skills in agriculture using Weston Agricultural College as a platform.
An animal health and science institute linked to the college will both offer services to the farming community and specialist education and training to both established colleges.
On the housing component of the development, he added that it will consist of four residential villages of low to high density, totalling an estimated 930 units, ranging from apartments and medium-density housing to large luxury residences and smallholdings.
An Agrihood will also be developed between Bruntville and Weston Agricultural College, making use of both state and college farmlands for the purpose.
Kelland said the plans for the project had been in the works for the past 20 years, and this is the culmination of that effort, which will contribute to the economic revival of Mooi River.
“With this development, together with the dry port that is being planned in the Greenfields Farm area, we believe the total investment for the Mooi River area will be around R10 billion over the next five to ten years. This investment is part of the revival of the town of Mooi River after 30 years of being neglected.”
He stated that the town is ideal for development for several reasons, including its proximity to the N3 route and its central location between the cities of Durban and Johannesburg.
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