The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) is rolling out a R546 million refurbishment programme of its R1,370 billion property portfolio which is ripe for public-private investment.
The refurbishment process is intended to improve and transform the portfolio. The Eastern Cape government has committed R273 million of the planned R546 million property improvement budget.
This amount is being spread over several financial years. Government has already availed R142,5 million to the ECDC for the refurbishment of identified properties.
The ECDC is raising the balance of R273 million through a capital raise programme involving the disposal of a portion of the residential portfolio. The capital raise exercise targets the disposal of non-core residential properties, primarily to existing tenants.
The ECDC has to date raised R95 million from the disposal programme. These funds have been invested into the refurbishment of the commercial and industrial property stock.
Over the next two years, ending in the 2026/27 financial year, the ECDC intends to raise a further R150 million from the disposal of residential vacant land parcels under 2,000 square metres, standalone houses, as well as from identified flats buildings and outlier non-core commercial/industrial properties, no longer serving the ECDC’s core mandate.