The Mall of Africa in Midrand during its construction phase. Credit: Stone Consult Hundreds of shoppers stood in line on Thursday morning as they waited for the opening of the new R4.9-billion Mall of Africa in Midrand.
The opening reportedly caused early morning rush-hour traffic to be a little heavier than usual, with traffic reportedly backed-up from the Allandale Road off-ramp. According to eNCA, some shoppers had queued since 6am this morning.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura officially opened the mall on Thursday morning.
The mall is the largest retail centre in Africa and is expected to house more than 300 stores.
The 131 038sqm mall was built in one phase, majority owner of the mall, Attacq said in a statement.
"The opening of this iconic mega mall, marks a significant strategic milestone for retail in South Africa and indeed takes the African retail experience to a total next level," Morné Wilken, Chief Executive Officer of Attacq said in a statement. "As the 80% owner of Mall of Africa, the opening of the Mall of Africa mark s a significant business milestone for Attacq and our business environment. Mall of Africa is a world-class lifestyle and retail destination, bringing significant value to the offering of the Gauteng province as the southern African sub-continent's commercial powerhouse," Wilken said.
The Mall of Africa can be accessed through 26 entrances; has 50 sets of lifts, hoists and tenant lift facilities and 40 escalators in the mall and within tenant stores. The mall also has 6800 parking bays.
According to James Ehlers, MD of Atterbury Property Developments - who own 20 percent of the mall - over 6 kilometres of shop front has been created inside the mall. More than 530 kilometres of post tension cable was used in the mall's construction, as well as 18 500 tons of rebar and 205 000 cubic metres of concrete.
It is expected that 15 million people will visit the mall annually.
Source: Shoppers queue for Mall of Africa opening
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