Eastern Cape premier, Phumulo Masualle, on Thursday cut the ribbon at the opening of the province's latest shopping mall.
The mall represents the latest investment by Eastern Cape born entrepreneur and founder of the Billion Group, Sisa Ngebulana.
Ngebulana said BT Ngebs City forms part of Billion Group's R16bn investment programme earmarked for the Eastern Cape region over the next 10 years.
He said "during its construction phase, the R1.4 billion development has created approximately 4500 jobs. An additional 2 500 permanent positions will become available upon completion of the development."
"The goods and services procured during the build phase, as well as the construction jobs, came from the local community, Ngebulana said.
The mall adds to the group's already strong retail portfolio, and in the Eastern Cape joins Billion's super-regional malls Hemingways in East London and Baywest in Port Elizabeth (Baywest is a joint-venture with Abacus Asset Management), as well as regional mall Mdantsane City in East London.
"The group is also busy developing a shopping centre in Ngcobo, which is due to open in 2017, and owns Forest Hill, Sunny Park and Bloed Street in Pretoria. The group also has retail presence in Africa, namely in Nigeria and Tanzania, as well as in the UK."
"We have seen good growth with our malls, and especially with our Eastern Cape offerings," said Ngebulana.
Market research had shown that the region was undersupplied by quality retail space to the tune of over 240,000m², said Ngebulana. He added that retailer demand for space at BT Ngebs City had been astounding, with 98% of the mall let.
