GEORGE NEWS - The turning of the soil of a proposed mega development, Sallywood City, was held yesterday afternoon, Monday 27 May, on the Kraaibosch property originally intended for Destiny Africa.
This comes almost exactly ten years after the launch of Destiny Africa, which never came to fruition. Fred Brown, project coordinator, said the new proposal is based on the same vision that the partners in the KPMC group, the initial developers, had of creating a smart city in George.
The new investors include William Woo, a Chinese businessman who has been living in South Africa for the past 26 years.
Brown, who has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to find investors, said this second unveiling of the development of the 437 hectares opposite the Garden Route Mall marks the final stretch that divides theory and practice.
He said it was an incredibly difficult task to keep the development rights on the land alive.
The new investors have come just in time as the rights lapse in June. "At the moment we plan to develop the creative arts and film industry as a priority which will include the commercial, residential, business, conferencing and educational precincts," said Brown.
Philip Molefe, chairman of the Film Foundation of South Africa, said the project will transform George into a global powerhouse.
"More than 100 000 people are going to live and work in this complex and more than 50 000 direct jobs are going to be created. More than anything else, this project is the first practical manifestation of agenda 2063 of the African Union.
"This project represents the Africa we want, wherein skills and jobs will be created, and there will be a unity of communities that are going to be around this project. My involvement with Sallywood City, over and above the watchdog role, will be the film and creative arts, because film is going to be the central theme of this project."
He said the name “Destiny Africa” should not be discarded, because the project will be the destiny of Africa.
Read more in Thursday's George Herald and online.
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