Akani Properties bets R600 million on SA’s post-Covid economic recovery Shopping Mall developments set for Zeerust and Pretoria East

Akani Properties bets R600 million on SA’s post-Covid economic recovery Shopping Mall developments set for Zeerust and Pretoria East

In Johannesburg today: Akani Properties Pty Ltd (“Akani”), a 100% black-owned property development, management and investment company is investing more than R600 million in new shopping mall developments and refurbishments in anticipation of a post-Covid economic recovery in the next 12 to 18 months.

Unfazed by the Covid-19 third wave which has seen the country placed on Alert level 4 for at least the first two weeks of July, the company is to invest R370 million in the Autumn Leaf Mall development in Zeerust (Ramotshere Molia Municipality) in the North West as well as R228 million on the upgrades to the Glen Village Mall in Faerie Glen, Pretoria East.

Zamani Letjane, Managing Director of Akani said, “This investment is testament to our belief that the worst is behind us, and the recovery of the economy is on the cards.” Letjane notes that the improved management of any future waves of the pandemic and the rollout of the vaccine programme will improve South Africa’s prospects in the medium to long term, despite current setbacks.

The Autumn Leaf Mall is a 20 000 square meters shopping centre in Zeerust and is due to open on September 2022. Zeerust, a transit town on the N4 highway between South Africa and Botswana, is one of the growing economic nodes in the province also known as Bokone Bophirima.

The Glen Village R228 million upgrade project in Pretoria East entails the full refurbishment and extension of the mall and is set to be completed in November 2022.

Akani’s bullish outlook on the commercial property sector is boosted in part by better-than-expected retail numbers – which the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) said were at a six-year high – as shoppers start spending again – buoyed by low-interest rates. Letjane expects interest rates to stay low even as consumer inflation recently hit a 30-month high of 5,2%.

To mitigate against any possible disruption to the power supply, Letjane says all Akani’s new developments will have renewable energy generation capacity to reduce dependency on the already constrained Eskom power generation. “Moreover, we are retrofitting existing buildings with solar PV for their captive power consumption,” he says.

“As long-term investors, we have taken a long-term view on South Africa’s economic recovery. We are also at an advanced stage of developing more shopping malls around the country as we seek to boost our portfolio of retail properties,” added Letjane.

Ends.

For media queries and interview requests, please contact Thebe Mabanga, Aphinko Consulting Account Director on Cell: 078 488 5803 OR email: banganess@gmail.com or thebe@aphinko.co.za

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About Akani Properties

Akani Properties is a 100% black-owned and managed property development, investment and management company with close to R3billion total assets under management. Its flagship property assets include the recently launched Raddison Hotel and Convention Centre Precinct in Kempton Park, amongst others. Retail assets include the Glen Village Shopping Centre in Pretoria East, Autumn Leaf Mall in Zeerus, Northwest Province and others.

Website: www.akaniproperties.co.za