Property

South Africa’s new shopping mall in R15 billion smart city

Kirsten Minnaar • 27 March 2025

The newly opened Westown Square, a high-street shopping and entertainment destination, forms part of a mixed-use smart city development, which is set to generate R15 billion over the next 10 to 15 years and create more than 23,000 jobs.

A development by the Fundamentum Property Group, Westown is the new City of the West and the new economic hub for Durban’s Outer West.

It is set to generate some R15 billion in investment over the next 10 to 15 years – R1.3 billion of which has already been triggered through the Westown Square.

The project is expected to attract approximately R15 billion in investment over the next 10 to 15 years, both in infrastructure and top structures, and create more than 23,000 jobs.

Notably, Westown is supported by one of the biggest infrastructural investments from the eThekwini Municipality in Durban since the Soccer World Cup in 2010.

This mixed-use property and lifestyle development is perfectly positioned between Durban and Pietermaritzburg on the main arterial N3 highway, 30km from Durban Port, 50km from PMB and 56km from King Shaka airport.

While Westown is an active construction site, the first phase of a new smart city development, Westown Square and The Barn, officially opened on the 27th of March.

Westown Square is a world-class shopping destination designed as a high street environment where indoor meets outdoor and the characteristics of the Shongweni green belt are reflected.

Shoppers can look forward to visiting well-known retailers like Checkers Hyper, Vision Works, Wimpy, Mr Price Home, and Edgars.

The mall also offers a number of restaurants, including Spur, The Filthy Moustache, Noble Coffee, and AuthentiQ Bar & Restaurant.

The Westown Urban Core is over 100ha in extent and has secured and approved development rights of approximately 520,000 m² of bulk floor area.

The shopping centre is supported by a number of interconnected precincts, spaces, and experiences that have been launched and will roll out over the next 5 to 10 years.

These include:

Farrier Business Park – Warehousing & Logistics Hub
Parc Ferme – Motor Focused Commercial Hub
Westown Mixed-Use – 22,000m2 of floor area
Shongweni Eco-Park by Balwin – the 1st of 3,000 units in the urban core
The West Private Hospital – 100 day & surgical beds
Westown Apartments – the 2nd phase of residential development
The Westown Urban Core forms part of the 2,000 ha Shongweni Urban Development, a proclaimed Catalytic Projects by the eThekwini Municipality, that is also supported at provincial and national government levels.

A key component of Westown Square is The Barn, a shared space for community connection and enjoyment that provides a permanent niche space for local traders and reflects the high-street design approach that makes Westown unique.

As Westown unlocks, reshapes and revitalises Durban’s Outer West by creating a new economic hub, it will also bring an array of socio-economic benefits such as:

15,000 construction jobs over the next decade
8,500 permanent jobs over the next 10 years
An upgraded road infrastructure
A training centre and skills development programs
New schooling and education facilities
Support of local service needs such as an extended road network, more education facilities, libraries and others.
Integrated public transport facilities
The rehabilitation of sugarcane land and neglected wetlands with ongoing management
Provision of managed running, cycling and equestrian trails, integrated into the development
Support of surrounding businesses, amenities and facilities to ensure the collective growth of the area.

“As the development of Westown progresses, so too has the show of confidence in the development, with Absa Investment Bank (Absa) as the primary funder of Westown Square,” the group said.

“This catalytic investment, together with the R730 million in roads and other infrastructure currently under construction by the eThekwini Municipality in partnership with Fundamentum, has not only enabled Westown to get off the ground but will leverage a further R14 billion in investment across the Westown development over the next decade.”