{"id":883408,"date":"2026-11-12T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=883408"},"modified":"2026-11-12T16:44:47","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T14:44:47","slug":"new-r3-billion-mega-development-coming-to-south-africa-r1-billion-more-than-the-luxury-club-med-resort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/883408\/new-r3-billion-mega-development-coming-to-south-africa-r1-billion-more-than-the-luxury-club-med-resort\/","title":{"rendered":"New R3 billion mega development coming to South Africa \u2013 R1 billion more than the luxury Club Med resort"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new R3-billion residential development on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast is set to add to a wave of major private-sector investment in the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bahari Bay eco-estate is a 100-hectare development in Shelly Beach and is valued at R3 billion, making it R1 billion more expensive than Club Med\u2019s recently completed luxury resort on the KZN South Coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Club Med\u2019s R2-billion resort is regarded as the largest hospitality investment in South Africa since Sun City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developed in partnership with the Collins Residential Consortium, the project comprises 411 accommodation units and a separate Vikela Safari Lodge, offering visitors a combined beach and safari experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Bahari Bay development is a large residential estate, with plans for 489 homes, comprising 350 full-title properties and 139 apartments in three-storey walk-up buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

40% of its 100-hectare footprint will remain undeveloped to preserve substantial natural space within the estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project was among the investments recognised at the 2026 KwaZulu-Natal Investment Conference in Durban earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conference attracted R124.5 billion in investment pledges, exceeding the provincial government’s target of R95 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the development, buyer interest has already translated into significant sales activity. More than 100 plots have been sold, with Phase One 75% sold and 94% of the stands in the estate’s Executive Phase already taken up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although KwaZulu-Natal accounts for a substantial portion of buyers, the development has also attracted interest from Cape Town and Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has also seen demand from international markets, including the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bahari Bay head of sales and communications, Ntando Lurwengu, said the interest reflected growing recognition of the KZN South Coast as an investment destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe South Coast has enormous potential, and the interest we\u2019re seeing from buyers locally and internationally suggests that this is increasingly being recognised,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe R3-billion commitment of Bahari Bay reflects our confidence in the region\u2019s future. It\u2019s an investment in residential development, infrastructure and the longer-term economic opportunities that come with bringing new residents and capital into the area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Available plots will start at R1.25 million<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The development is also expected to support employment during and after construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At peak construction periods, between 450 and 650 jobs are projected, with most workers expected to come from the local Ugu District Municipality labour pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These positions will include site management, skilled artisans, general labourers, subcontractors, landscaping workers and materials suppliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the estate is fully occupied and operating at its planned capacity, an additional 395 to 580 direct employment opportunities are projected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These will include jobs in household services, security, groundskeeping, maintenance, apartment services, clubhouse operations and estate management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lurwengu said the employment impact would extend beyond the construction phase, as a new residential community would create ongoing demand for local goods and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Property prices have also increased as the development progresses. Phase One plots were initially marketed from R460,000, although none remain available at that entry-level price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stands in Phase Two now start at R1.25 million, due to differences in plot values across the development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investment comes as KwaZulu-Natal seeks to attract more private-sector capital beyond its traditional economic centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lurwengu said the South Coast’s coastline, established communities and natural surroundings provided a foundation for further investment, particularly as new developments and infrastructure improve the region’s appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photos of Bahari Bay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new R3-billion residential development on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast is coming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":883479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"failed","_sma_x_autopost_error":"Instagram publishing failed: Instagram returned HTTP 400: Media ID is not available","_sma_x_post_id":"2120895906065031335","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2270757873744611","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[27075,18193,853],"class_list":["post-883408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-bahari-bay","tag-kwa-zulu-natal","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883408","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=883408"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":884098,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883408\/revisions\/884098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/883479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=883408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=883408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=883408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}