network is one of the strategic focuses of the SDF (eThekwini Municipality, 2012a), and C8 and C9 IRPTN bus routes, as shown in Figure 3.4, will link the region with the rest of the city.
Route C9 is going to be the main transport spine through the Cornubia site. The IRPTN is a phased project with the first route proposed to be opened in 2016 (Commercial and Industrial Property News, 19/02/2013).
Figure 3.4: IRPTN Trunk Routes (eThekwini Municipality, 2012a, p. 133)
3.4.2 KSIA and Dube Trade Port
The KSIA and DTP has been declared an Aerotropolis, which will take approximately 40 years to complete (Aerotropolis KZN, 27/11/2014; TradePort, 27/11/2014; Daily News, 22/072011).
According to the eThekwini Municipality IDP (2012a) this area is a main economic node not just for the north but for the whole city. According to Robbins (2014) the KSIA and DTP are nationally driven projects to increase the number of business and tourism visitors to KwaZulu- Natal. The Aerotropolis is also envisioned to stimulate high-value exports, and economic growth in the area. The airport was relocated in 2010 from it old location in the south of the
eThekwini Municipality (Robbins, 2014). Both the KSIA and DTP are located on a site covering 2040ha. According to Robbins (2014, p. 2) “[t]he Dube Tradeport Corporation, a KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government public entity, is the primary developer of a number of projects within the Dube Tradeport envelope including the Dube Tradeport Cargo Terminal, Dube Trade Zone, Dube Agrizone and Dube City.” These, along with the KSIA, form the Aerotropolis (Robbins, 2014). The land adjacent to the Aerotropolis is owned by THD, thus they are an important role player in the development of the Aerotropolis, and THD have taken on board this concept and collaborated with DTP. For a background to the KSIA-DTP development refer to Robbins (2014).
3.4.3 Development and megaprojects in the Northern Municipal Planning Region
According to Sutherland et al (2013) national, provincial and local government use megaprojects to drive economic growth. The NMPR has a large concentration of developments and two megaprojects Cornubia and KSIA-DTP (Sutherland, et al., 2014 ). Commercially the regional shopping centre called the Gateway Theatre of Shopping is located on the coastal (east) side on the N2 freeway. This development houses the main shopping mall with other smaller shopping complexes around the main Gateway building. Many of the car dealerships which were located in the CBD a decade ago have also moved north to the Gateway precinct. To the south of Gateway there is a development which incorporates large scale home improvement stores. The Gateway precinct is adjacent to the Umhlanga new town centre which has been designed for THD by Iyer Urban Design Studio. The design is grounded in the New Urbanism paradigm (explained in Chapter 2).
The Umhlanga town centre comprises modern office blocks and residential apartment buildings. Also on the east side of the N2 freeway there are many new low density housing estates designed and built by THD. These housing estates, aimed at high-income residents, link the suburb of Durban North with Umhlanga. Further north between the N2 and the sea is the Sibaya Casino. At the moment only the casino section has been built, however there is conjecture that THD have plans to build high income residential complexes around the casino.
On the inland (west) side of the freeway opposite from the Gateway precinct, is the high income housing estate of Mount Edgecombe. This estate was also an initiative of THD and was built
on land that was previously used to grow sugar cane. The Mount Edgecombe estate is situated south of Cornubia. To the north of the Cornubia site is the KSIA and DTP.
It is noticeable through examining the developments in the NMPR that THD is a dominant role player. Their development portfolio suggests that they are a proactive company with a team of experts, both in-house and external consultants, who create conceptual designs for their vision for the development. They are driven by market forces and strategically release land when the market is right. Being the dominant land holder they have managed to implement their own design principles in the northern area, which has led to THD dominating the design style.
3.4.4 Northern Urban Development Corridor project
The Northern Urban Development Corridor project (NUDC) was conceptualised in an initiative called: “The Basic Planning of Alternative Route Alignments of the R102 Including Linkages to Dube Trade port; and the Local Area Development Plans for the Northern EThekwini Urban Development Corridor” (eThekwini Municipality, 2011a, p. 1). The Verulam-Cornubia LAP was one of three plans, the other two plans are: Phoenix-INK (Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu) and a plan for Tongaat-Dube Tradeport. The eThekwini Municipality has now changed its focus from the CBD and South Durban Basin to new key strategic zones/hubs. In the north this hub is the KSIA and DTP. These zones are major economic drivers in the municipality (eThekwini Municipality, 2011a). The NUDC followed a participatory process with meetings with the different communities and affected stakeholders (SSI, 2011). A key point is that Cornubia is identified as being a new town in the NUDC plan (refer to Figure 3.5).
Figure 3.5: NUDC Concept Plan (eThekwini Municipality, 2011a, p. 8)