The deal is sealed, the eThekwini Municipality announced on Friday, September 27, the Southern Sun Hotel Group as the preferred bidder for the lease and redevelopment of the Elangeni and Maharani hotels on north beach Durban, for a period of 50 years.

This follows a comprehensive public participation process and request for proposals initiated by the municipality in terms of the applicable regulatory processes.

The redevelopment will enable the municipality to realise its vision as outlined in the Inner-City Local Area Plan, which is to protect and enhance the beachfront as a key tourism asset.

Southern Sun is a Level 1 B-BBEE South African registered company, which underscores the municipality’s commitment to transformation and to use its property portfolio to promote economic transformation in the property sector. It further complies with Section 25 (5) of the Constitution. It places a mandatory requirement on the state to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis, said City Manager Musa Mbhele.

“The redevelopment entails an estimated capital investment of R1 billion. This includes the refurbishment of the Elangeni and Maharani hotels as well as the Garden Court South Beach and The Edward hotels which are also owned by Southern Sun,” Mr Mbhele said. “In addition, a fund of R5 million will be made available to restore and maintain the Sunken Gardens, a historically significant park owned by the municipality on the beachfront in front of the hotels.”

Some of the upgrades to the hotels include:

Maharani Tower

• The upgrade of the lobby sense of arrival with enhanced finishes, including a new reception desk, re-carpeted and painted staircase and upgraded public bathrooms.

• Enhance the second-floor level with an enclosed pre-function and overflow restaurant that enjoy sea views and access to natural air and light.

• Full refurbishment of the suites which includes three presidential suites combined with the 43 high-floor level rooms. These will be designated as the “Club floor” experience, providing guests with access to the Club Floor exclusive area use bringing a five-star element back to the Durban Beachfront.

• The rooftop pool bar which has some of the best views Durban has to offer. This area will be refurbished to create a modern, attractive pool space with sophisticated bar offering.

Elangeni Tower

• The modernisation of the lobby and refurbishment of the bedrooms and bathrooms, along with the introduction of natural light into the conference area

• Introduction of a new restaurant concept for the old Daruma Space, proposing “Spice” as a modern Indian concept restaurant which could be internally owned or rented to a third party.

Mr Mbhele said the redevelopment also brings with it innovative solutions that promote sustainability and minimise the impact on the environment, including the installation of solar panels on both towers to augment the electricity supply and grey water system which should save approximately 35 % of the total annual water usage.

The Southern Sun Elangeni and Maharani currently employs approximately 450 employees. All those jobs will be retained with a further 200 jobs created during the refurbishment phase which is expected to last for 36 months after commencement, Mr Mbhele added.

eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba said he was proud of how the municipality had dealt with the issue of the lease of the properties. He especially thanked Mr Mbhele and the Real Estate team for their dedication in managing this complex process in line with the various laws and regulations governing the municipality.

“We wish to also thank Southern Sun for staying the course with our municipality despite the numerous challenges experienced by our province and particularly the hospitality industry over recent years - which includes the Covid 19 pandemic, the devastating floods and July civil unrest. Southern Sun has demonstrated its commitment to both transformation and inclusive economic development of this important city asset. We are particularly excited about the significant economic impact and job creation that the redevelopment brings for our city,” said Mayor Xaba.

Mr Marcel von Aulock, the CEO of Southern Sun, stated that the Group is delighted that the city has managed and concluded the process for the selection of a preferred bidder for these iconic properties. These properties he said are vital to the long-term maintenance and rejuvenation of the Durban Beachfront.

“Southern Sun has a long history of operating on the beachfront. The area is very much part of our DNA, with some of the best hoteliers South Africa has produced developing their careers at these hotels. We remain committed to seeing Durban unlock its full potential as a premier leisure, conference and sporting destination for South Africa and look forward to working with the eThekwini Municipality to achieve this,” Mr Von Aulock said.

eThekwini Head of Real Estate Thapelo Mmusinyane, City Manager Musa Mbhele, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba, CEO of Southern Sun, Marcel von Aulock and eThekwini Chief Financial Officer Dr Sandile Mnguni. PICTURES: ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY, THULI DLAMINI

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