Johannesburg - Prominent businessman Richard Maponya has entered into a joint venture with property group Zenprop to build a R450 million shopping mall in Soweto.
The construction of Maponya Mall will commence this month and is scheduled for completion in October next year.
This will be the second shopping mall in Soweto, following the opening of Protea Mall two months ago.
Maponya bought the site, which is situated along the traffic-congested Old Potchefstroom Road, 28 years ago for an undisclosed amount.
"It has always been my dream to build a mall on that area," he said.
The mall is expected to create over 1 000 job opportunities during the construction and post-construction phases.
According to a study released in 2003 by the City of Johannesburg's Economic Development Unit, Soweto has an estimated 4 million people who have an annual spending capacity of about R10.5 billion, with R4.3 billion of that available for consumer purchases.
Zenprop's retail director, Adam Blow, said only R1 billion of the consumer spending remained in Soweto.
"The mall will ensure that the whole R4.5 billion will remain in Soweto.
"Soweto has a huge untapped market potential, as residents have very little shopping alternatives in the township," he said.
Blow attributed this to the lack of developments and opportunities in the township.
Maponya said the mall would boost Soweto's stature as a tourist destination.
Over 75 percent of the space at Maponya Mall has been allocated to tenants such as Woolworths, Edgars, Pick 'n Pay, Ackermans, Jet, Sportscene and cinema group Ster Kinekor.
The Maponya Mall will be situated a few kilometres from a new development project, Orlando Ekhaya Project, which is an initiative by the Johannesburg Property Company.
The Orlando Ekhaya Project development area will comprise shops, offices and hotels.
Maponya said the mall would complement the Orlando Ekhaya Project as the two buildings would be situated close to each other.
Zenprop, which was started in 1998, is also involved in the development of the Vangate City Mall in Athlone, Cape Town.
Maponya's business interests are in supermarkets, race horses, filling stations and transport.