{"id":854309,"date":"2026-03-20T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=854309"},"modified":"2026-03-20T15:59:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T13:59:47","slug":"r230-million-parking-lot-being-built-for-the-super-rich-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/854309\/r230-million-parking-lot-being-built-for-the-super-rich-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"R230 million ‘parking lot’ being built for the super-rich in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cape Town is getting a R230 million \u2018parking lot\u2019 with the V&A Waterfront announcing plans to build a new superyacht marina aimed at servicing the global elite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development, known as the Quay 7 Superyacht Marina, will be built in one of the Southern Hemisphere\u2019s oldest working harbours in Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Positioned in front of the new Cape Town EDITION hotel, the basin will offer views of the Atlantic Ocean, the City Bowl, and Table Mountain. Construction is expected to be completed by October 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project is being framed as far more than a high-end docking space. A marina functions much like a \u201cparking bay\u201d for vessels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It provides secure mooring, maintenance access, and full-service support for boats and yachts when they are not in use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to V&A Waterfront CEO Graham Wood, the investment responds to a growing trend that has been building for more than a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuperyacht visits have grown steadily since 2009, and we welcomed 35 vessels in the 2024\/25 season alone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany stay for extended periods\u2014six months, sometimes a year\u2014because Cape Town offers a unique mix of world-class tourism, reliable marine services, and access to adventure cruising routes that simply don\u2019t exist in traditional yachting hubs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The facility will accommodate superyachts between 40 and 90 metres during peak season, with six stern-to berths and two beam-on berths supported by floating jetties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During quieter months, the marina will shift focus to support the city\u2019s thriving boat-building industry, acting as a staging and commissioning hub for exports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This dual-purpose design is central to its economic rationale. Andre Blaine, Executive for Marine and Industrial Property at the V&A Waterfront, stressed that the project is not just about luxury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t only a leisure marina, it\u2019s economic infrastructure. It creates sustained demand for fuel suppliers, provisioning companies, marine engineers, crew training facilities, and logistics operators,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will bring major economic growth to the region <\/h2>\n\n\n
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V&A Waterfront Superyacht Marina latest render <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Cape Town is already home to globally competitive catamaran manufacturers such as Robertson and Caine, Two Oceans Marine, and Balance Catamarans, all of which stand to benefit from improved berthing and servicing capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt supports local manufacturers who need berthing space for commissioning, and it positions Cape Town as a credible technical hub, not just a beautiful harbour,\u201d Blaine added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The broader development forms part of an expanding precinct that includes the Cape Town EDITION hotel, the refurbished Intercontinental Table Bay, and the East Pier Helistop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The marina is expected to have a ripple effect across the local economy. It will require permanent staff and drive demand in provisioning, refuelling, maintenance, and hospitality services, supported by a dedicated concierge office catering to vessel crews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood highlighted the value of this niche tourism segment. \u201cA superyacht visit generates exponentially more economic activity per visitor than mass tourism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blaine added that these vessels refuel with hundreds of thousands of litres at a time. They source fresh provisions at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They employ local marine contractors for repair work. The spend is substantial, the volume is manageable, and the economic benefit stays local.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project will also target Gold Anchor accreditation, an internationally recognised benchmark for marina excellence, while incorporating environmental management systems aligned with the V&A Waterfront\u2019s sustainability commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore than 30,000 vessels pass the Cape annually for trade and tourism. This new marina formalises what the market has been signalling for years, which is that Cape Town belongs on the global maritime circuit,\u201d Blaine said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cape Town is getting a R230 million \u2018parking lot\u2019 with the V&A Waterfront announcing plans to build a new superyacht marina aimed at servicing the global elite.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":850207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[853,21986],"class_list":["post-854309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-south-africa","tag-the-va-waterfront"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854309"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":854399,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854309\/revisions\/854399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}