This may sound far-fetched, but it is part of a developer's ambitious dream to erect an enormous entertainment centre of about R6,5bn in Centurion. This is if additional financing can be obtained.
Ivor Davies, a director of the development group Esigodlweni Se Africa, says it will be the largest private investment in SA to date if it goes ahead.
The developer has plans to develop the Centurion Entertainment Amusement & Business Park on premises of 319 hectares in West Hills, Erasmia, in conjunction with a business consortium in phases over seven years. He says part of the financing will be coming from overseas.
Davies has been working on the project since 1998 and there is now sufficient financing available to bring the first phase to market.
He says it will offer a lot more than Disney World, "which is only for kids". This development will be aimed at families, local and foreign tourists and serve as an educational destination for schools, but "the ultimate goal is the 2020 Olympic Games".
He says that upon completion, approximately 14 million people will live within a radius of two hours' drive from the park and the objective is to draw at least 25% of these people annually.
The first phase includes two five star hotels with 300 rooms each, a conference centre for some 6,000 delegates, 150 chalets, a clinic with 150 beds and a private school. Hotel operators haven't been appointed, but operators from Asia are being considered.
The second phase includes a sports complex with a stadium for 35,000 spectators, an indoor beach resort, an indoor ski resort, a dinosaur park, theatres and 12 restaurants. There are currently two indoor ski resorts in the world, the Ocean Dome in Mijazaki, Japan, and Bahia Beach Club in Frankfurt, Germany.
Davies says the company has taken a leaf from these resorts' pages and the one in Centurion will be a combination of the two.
Ronél Bothma, the development's project manager, says groundwork for the first phase is expected to commence in January 2009 and construction later in the year. – Elma Kloppers, Sake24
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