​A presentation on the mid-term economic assessment made by the Economic Development Unit to the Executive Committee on 17 February revealed that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the City was able to attract R3.5 billion in Foreign Direct Investment made possible through catalytic projects and other huge infrastructure investments that are currently being implemented.

The R3.5 billion can be attributed to four main contributing sectors; viz the automotive (Toyota), agri-processing (Kerry Foods), chemicals (H& R Africa) and property development (JK Props UK). The City’s Economic Recovery Plan (ERP), introduced during the Covid-19 lockdown, is a clear indication that the plan is yielding the desired outcomes.

The ERP also encouraged investor and developer growth with the provision for the reprieve of development application fees. This positively impacted the number of new construction applications for the past financial year with October 2020 recording the highest number of new applications approved (195) in this month since 2016.

Developers and investors would do well to take advantage of the City’s development application fee relief that will end on 30 June. The City’s Economic Development Incentive Policy reflects the commitment to incentivise foreign and local investment, through financial or tax rebates as well as non-financial support for investors that align to the City’s inclusive growth objectives.

It aims to promote the development of vacant land and expansion or redevelopment of existing industrial, commercial or mixed-use developments and makes provision to encourage urban regeneration, target investment into the inner city and high priority integration zones, provide inclusive investment and stimulate employment and local procurement.

Investors would also do well to note that eThekwini ranked second on the World Bank’s benchmarking exercise on the construction permits indicator on Doing Business for 2018/19.