New R980 million amusement park coming to South Africa
The eThekwini Municipality, which oversees Durban and KwaZulu-Natal, has announced that it has secured R980 million in funding to build the Durban Amusement Park.
The amusement park will be constructed and developed on the site of the former Durban Funworld, which closed in 2023 after 75 years of operation.
“With funding approved, the development has completed its design stage, and technical planning work is underway. Statutory development work will follow and is expected to run to the end of the first quarter of 2027, with construction to follow,” said the municipality.
The municipality said that the development finance institution funding the project will also cover the statutory work and support the project’s planning and technical aspects.
“The approval strengthens the city’s position as it highlights the alignment of national government, the development finance sector and the municipality.”
The Durban Amusement Park, in the central beach precinct, is expected to bring back a permanent attraction, offering multiple rides, an extended reality and digital zone, a selection of retailers, and an “upgraded events-focused amphitheatre.”
In 2025, the municipality announced that the new park would offer attractions such as the Lightning Roller Coaster, Disko 24, Vertical Swing, and a 1 500 square metre Virtual Reality Theme Park with more than 160 interactive games and global e-sports activations.
The amusement park is expected to operate year-round, remaining open even in the evenings and during rainy weather.
“The mix of indoor and outdoor attractions allows it to trade year-round, including on wet-weather days and in the evenings.”
The eThekwini Municipality said that this new development is located in a prime destination on the Golden Mile promenade, which sees over 17 million visitors every year.
“The park is designed to give those visitors more reasons to stay longer, return more often and spend more in surrounding hotels, restaurants and other tourism businesses.”
The municipality said that the amusement park should create around 1,400 jobs across construction and operations, and will integrate local small businesses into the park’s supply chain.
“It is the entertainment centrepiece of more than R2 billion in investment spent or committed on Durban’s beachfront.”
Closed down after 75 years in operation
The Durban Funworld amusement park, which was once a significant attraction on the city’s beachfront, was shut down in May 2023, after 75 years of operation.
Former Funworld owner Nic Steyn told the SABC that the city’s municipality, which owned the land on which the amusement park was built, had failed to renew his lease after it expired in 2017, leaving him on a month-to-month lease for six years.
“To keep this park going on a month-to-month basis is just not feasible anymore, and unless the municipality is prepared to sit down and talk to me to work out a solution that is for the benefit of Durban, unfortunately, I’m just going to have to pack up and go,” he said.
Steyn said that many prospective buyers contacted him about purchasing the business, but the municipality refused to grant them a lease.
“For the past 12 years, I’ve tried to pass it on to someone else that I can mentor and teach how to keep it going and make sure that it’s safe, but whenever I get someone that’s interested, it just falls apart the minute it gets to the municipality.”
Steyn said that while the issues could be easily resolved, he had not received any communication from the municipality after sending a letter to inform them of his intention to close the amusement park.
The eThekwini Municipality City Manager, Musa Mbhele, said the amusement park’s closure was due to the contract having expired.
At the time of closing, Mbhele said the municipality would issue a tender to secure a new operator. He said that the municipality aimed to complete the tender process within three months.
“It is not because we don’t have a plan; it is being done so that we improve how the beach functions,” said Mbhele.
The tender process for Durban Funworld ended in March 2024, three months after it started, and Masithu Consulting and Project Managers (MCPM) was appointed to build the new venue.
The amusement rides and attractions were sold at auction in 2023 and removed from the beachfront.
In October 2026, the project secured development funding from a development finance institution, with construction planned for 2027.
Photos of the Durban Amusement Park
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