Mandela Bay Development Agency Broadens its Horizons

Yet another boost for development is on the cards for the Nelson Mandela Bay! The Mandela Bay Development Agency‘s mandate has been extended from the inner city to incorporate urban renewal in Motherwell, Despatch as well as Uitenhage.

In addition, the MBDA has also been tasked to start the search for an operator for the 2010 soccer stadium.

Initially, the MBDA was mandated to operate in the Port Elizabeth CBD namely, Central, Humerail, Baakens Valley, the waterfront and North End. Now, development has been extended to other parts of the Nelson Mandela Bay. The decision to expand the MBDA‘s mandate is part of a validation process in which the municipality is restructuring 6 of its entities to do away with duplication and in some instances make savings. Municipal lawyers are now in the process of changing the institution into a share- holding company. Interestingly, this will be the first municipal entity in South Africa to operate on a private company basis. This holds many advantages in that it will create numerous capitalisation opportunities as any municipal assets will be transferred to the MBDA.

Currently, there are several municipal assets lying dormant. Once these are given to the MBDA, it will use them to earn revenue for the city. An example of this is the old tramways building at the corner of Valley and Baakens roads.

In order to attract investment, there needs to be a significant investment in the public infrastructure and that is exactly what the MBDA aims to achieve. Research will be done in retail, leisure, residential as well as entertainment to identify what exactly is lacking. They also aim to improve the infrastructure so as to boost the confidence of potential developers.

Development and improvements continues in Port Elizabeth.