GREEN SHOOTS IN THE OUTER WEST

There are definitely green shoots in the Outer West of Ethekwini, even after the recent '2^{nd '}flood.

Ethekwini has certainly had its fair share of challenges in the past year but fortunately the Outer West areas around Hammarsdale and Cato Ridge have been less impacted than most.

There was some damage to roads and other infrastructure and a few isolated companies experienced minor flood damage but the elevated level of the area helped to minimize the extent of the damage.

The amount of damage to infrastructure in the area between Cato Ridge and the Port further highlighted the need for a Dry Port / Fully fledged Intermodal Hub and the fact that Cato Ridge is the perfect location, with its long lengths of straight rail line and level land on either side.

Various large Logistics Companies have already taken up space in the area between Hammarsdale and Camperdown, including Maersk, who is in the process of establishing a container handling facility in Cato Ridge.

The area is also attracting interest from other international investors.

In a recent article titled 'Connecting the Dots', written by Political commentator JP Landman and published by Nedbank Private Wealth on 29 April 2022, he outlined a number of positive trends and developments including:- a more supportive macro-economic framework, monetary and fiscal policy improvements, structural reforms and public private partnerships to improve infrastructure. Some of these are starting to impact on Cato Ridge and there is already some interest from companies who pledged at the Presidents recent investment conference.

Although prices and rentals are gradually rising with the increased demand, the area still offers exceptional value and the other benefits of the area can be reviewed in our news article, dated 26 March 2022 and published on our website.