A R2,5-billion property development in Jeffreys Bay is set to change the local landscape, with the potential to re-establish the town’s CBD within the new project.

The details of the ambitious Fountains Estate were unveiled yesterday close to the site at which construction will commence in June this year.

The 600ha estate is billed as a lifestyle community that will feature a range of amenities offering accommodation, a commercial hub, a hotel, schools, churches, a country club, bird sanctuary, equestrian centre and bridle, running and cycling paths.

The primary motivation for the development is the congestion and infrastructure constraints that the popular seaside town is experiencing due to the rapid influx of new residents.

Promoted by renowned local developer Oswald Buchner, the project has attracted many heavyweight backers and investors.

A key driver in the development, located north of the town and close to the N2, will be the R150-million Fountains Shopping Centre.

The consortium developing the centre comprises Bulelani Ngcuka’s Amabubesi Investments, Old Mutual Properties, Orange Property Group and the Broll property management company.

Buchner said yesterday the 40 000m² shopping centre would be the largest complex within a 65km radius and serve the Kouga region as far afield as Cape St Francis and St Francis Bay, Humansdorp and Patensie.

Ngcuka said he had been inundated with queries related to the jobs and opportunities since it was announced in September last year.

“It has been worrying for me because there is so much expectation about what the development is going to do for a number of people,” he said. “It is not just a development that we will come and do because we want to do it; people of the area want it done.”

He said his involvement gave him an opportunity to plough back into the province of his origins.

“The Eastern Cape is a wonderful province with the richest human capital. But unfortunately it does not derive the benefits because it exports its people to the other provinces.”

Kouga mayor Robbie Dennis said the project had the potential to create up to 350 jobs during construction, with between 150 and 170 people expected to be employed permanently once it has been completed. All new employees would be drawn from the local community.

He said job creation was the most important challenge in the region, with unemployment fluctuating between 30% and 40%, and he welcomed the opportunities that would be created through this project.

To this end, a local labour bureau had been created in conjunction with the developers to manage the pool of jobless people, who would also receive training which should provide them with the necessary skills to take advantage of the project.