BUSINESS NEWS
Bank commits R55m to housing project
Posted Wed, 24 Jan 2007
The Development Bank of SA (DBSA) is to contribute R55-million to fund the municipal services for a middle-income housing development in Polokwane, Limpopo, it announced on Tuesday. "DBSA will fund the installation of the necessary municipal services and infrastructure on the land so that the stands are fully serviced when construction of the houses commences," said Helge Switala, DBSA's investment officer on the project. DBSA's contribution would finance the development of roads, water, sewerage, electricity and storm water drainage infrastructure at Extension 28 of Polokwane — also known as Serala View. The contribution follows the signing of a loan agreement with the developers, Polokwane 28 Joint Venture, in October last year. Polokwane 28, established exclusively to implement the project, is a partnership between black-empowerment property investment company, Matome Maponya Investments Ltd, and a family investment trust.
Polokwane 28 Joint Venture chief
executive Kholofelo Maponya said the project was aligned with the Polokwane Municipality's Spatial Development Framework Plan and Integrated Development Plan, both of which prioritised increasing development of middle-income housing to address the growing demand. Encroachment of the CBD into the residential areas of the old town had resulted in many houses being transformed into office buildings, further reducing the available housing stock. Switala said installation of municipal services had started and more than 80 percent of the stands in the first two phases had already been sold. Serala View has more than 700 residential stands as well as stands zoned for commercial and social activities.
Sapa
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