Dubai based property and hospitality heavyweight Ruwaad Holdings top executives are in KwaZulu-Natal seeking at potential investment in a R15-billion tourism resort and property project for the North Coast.
According on Monday reports, long-established investigations and talks were happening between the KZN government and Ruwaad Holdings, however stressed that nothing had been finalized up till now from both sides speaking of about terms and conditions.
KZN Premier S'bu Ndebele, who announced the development in his state-of-the-province address in February, repeated details about the development at the African Renaissance conference in Durban yesterday. He said the huge development could become the fifth project of its kind in the world, based on the concept of a "city within a city". A statue of King Shaka, mooted by the KZN government but built with private funding, would be erected as part of the project.
Ruwaad Holdings is a subsidiary of leading UAE-based investment and holdings company Dubai 9 Group, which has investments worldwide and is headed by CEO Hayan Merchant. Ruwaad is the property, hospitality and tourism and development subsidiary.
It is involved in ground-breaking property developments in the UAE, including a $2,5-billion (R19,2-billion) Hollywood-themed park, having secured a landmark agreement with film and television giant Paramount Pictures.
The development was launched in June, when the company announced it had head-hunted international destination development expert Darrell Metzger as chief executive of Ruwaad Destinations.
Metzger is a former boss of Disneyworld and has also held leadership positions in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The Dubai 9 Group is also a part owner of the first Versace hotel development in the world - the Palazzo Versace Resort on Australia's Gold Coast - and is jointly developing a second Palazzo Versace Resort in the Dubai Cultural Village.
Leading property professionals said the magnitude and stature of the Dubai 9 Group's and Ruwaad's developments in the Middle East gave an indication of what could be expected in the North Coast project.
Ruwaad's Dubai headquarters said Merchant and Metzger were on business in Durban and sources said they were in meetings with a technical team already based here.
Ndebele confirmed The Mercury's research on Friday, conceding: "Yes, it is Ruwaad. I cannot reveal more information on the project... I have said all that I can. It is the right of the developer, once the master plan has been finalised, to reveal and officially launch this big project with the government."
Ndebele said in February: "The project involves a multibillion-rand investment on the northern side of the uThukela River in the Macambini area. The project will be implemented in phases and will create tens of thousands of jobs.
In his budget speech last month he said: "The project will be a fully integrated tourism destination. It will comprise a variety of market- segmented residential communities, entertainment attractions, hospitality, education, health care, leisure, retail and commercial offerings."
