The Princess Mkabayi Mall is being developed in KwaZulu-Natal, one of the nine provinces of South Africa.
Named after the powerful Zulu warrior princess Mkabayi, the mall is co-owned by property development companies Moolman, Twin City Development, JB and Green Giraffe. It will offer a diverse range of retail, entertainment, recreation and leisure facilities.
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The initial sod-turning ceremony for the project was held in 2021, while the site was officially handed over to the developers in June 2023.
The development is due to be completed in October 2024 and the mall is expected to open in April 2025.
Location
The Princess Mkabayi Mall is being developed on Oos Street, 1.7km south of Vryheid central business district in the AbaQulusi municipality of KwaZulu-Natal province.
Bound by Vryheid Airport and Hoerskool Pionier, the mall is being developed on a 23-hectare site and is part of a larger mixed-use development comprising offices, a hotel and casino, and apartments.
Vryheid is a self-sustained town comprising schools, a district hospital and industries. It currently lacks any major retail facilities to serve the catchment area, making it an ideal locale for the mall development.
The mall is set to be one of the biggest within a 100km radius. It is located near the towns of Lake Side and Bheka Zala, and major attractions such as Kerk Street, Bloemnel, the Vryheid Spar Centres and Vryheid Plaza.
Princess Mkabayi Mall details
The Princess Mkabayi Mall will be a single-level shopping centre with a gross leasable area of 30,000m² (322,917ft² ). It will feature a mix of national retailers in categories such as fashion, health and beauty, food, entertainment and lifestyle.
The retail centre will feature beautifully designed interiors with artistic touchpoints and a main entrance with unique design elements.
The mall will provide free Wi-Fi, workstations and charging stations along with comfortable seating for visitors. It will have 831 free open parking spots, which can be accessed through two entrances, and 192 taxi parking spaces along with a central taxi rank.
Retail and entertainment offerings at Princess Mkabayi Mall
The mall will be anchored by Shoprite, Checkers, Dis-Chem and Woolworths. Other retailers include Clicks, Cape Union Mart, Mugg & Bean and Cross Trainer.
Clothing Junction, JAM Clothing, The Fix, Milady’s and LEGiT are among the clothing brands that will be available at the mall.
Other tenants include Nedbank, Truworths, Capitec Bank, Absa and First National Bank.
Food options at the mall include Nandos, Hungry Lion, Debonairs Pizza and Fish-Aways, along with fast-food outlets.
The mall will feature a large entertainment area, a children’s play area, a centralised meeting area and dining spaces.
Sustainability features
The Princess Mkabayi Mall will be solar-powered and equipped with a generator for back-up power to minimise the effects of load shedding.
An on-site water plant will be installed for the mall’s gardens’ irrigation system.
Contractors involved
The mall is designed by MDS Architecture, an architectural practice based in South Africa.
Matla Quantity Surveyors, a professional quantity surveying practice based in South Africa, and Streng Consult, a civil engineering company, are also involved in the project.
Ingplan Consulting Engineers, an engineering services company, and IKOTWE Construction, a construction company, are among the other contractors involved in the project.
