The Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP) has called for developers to invest in Bellville and make the area a secondary city in Cape Town, like Centurion in Pretoria, Sandton in Johannesburg and Umhlanga in Durban.
Speaking at their conference on Monday August 26, GTP chief executive, Warren Hewitt, said massive improvements in Centurion and Umhlanga over the years have greatly benefited Pretoria and Durban respectively.
“Four South Africa to have four secondary cities will be a massive draw card and we believe that Bellville already has the infrastructure and potential to become a destination city.”
However Mr Hewitt said calls for investment is not just focused on Bellville but rather the entire Tygerberg area, which already includes a number of medical and tertiary education facilities, corporate offices and one of the busiest transport hubs in the city.
“In Bellville alone, we have a number of medical institutes, corporate offices and I believe that the area could possibly be the home of more students than anywhere in South Africa.”
The six main hospitals in the area are Melomed, Luis Leipoldt, Karl Bremmer, Tygerberg Hospital , Stikland Psychiatric Hospital and the Cape Eye Hospital and after a recent survey, it was found that there are over 18 000 people employed in the medical field and more than 2 665 hospital beds in the area.
“Also in the area, there are six facilities that offer training in the medical field. Stellenbosch University, UWC, CPUT, the South African Research Council, South African Herbal Science and Medicine Institute and the Council of Health Service Accreditation all have facilities in the area which makes it a massive medical hub.”
Mr Hewitt said GTP is currently in negotiations with two international developers and one from Johannesburg about various developments such as retail opportunities and affordable housing in the area.
Mayoral committee member for economic development, James Vos, who attended the conference, agreed with Mr Hewitt by identifying Bellville as integral to the city’s investment opportunities.
“Global businesses continue to invest and expand into Cape Town and a number of JSE-listed businesses are head-quartered in Cape Town. Bellville has been identified as one of the five nodes to receive investment incentives.”
Mr Vos said while the expansion of the Cape Town International Airport benefits the city, Bellville might be one of the first areas to see the rewards.