Two new shopping centres valued at R95m each are being opened in Kabokweni, in White River, and in Nquthu, in KwaZulu-Natal.McCormick Property Development (MPD), which specialises in property development in previously disadvantaged areas, says demand for space from retailers is so strong that there are long waiting lists of prospective tenants.

Both shopping centres are about 14000m² and are the only modern shopping complexes in their areas.Kabokweni Plaza is to open on March 28 while Nquthu Plaza will open on March 30.“For each of the shopping centres we have waiting lists of 70,” says project development manager Jason McCormick.

Both will be anchored by Shoprite, which is taking 2500m² of space in Kabokweni and 2300m² in Nquthu. Other tenants include Cashbuild and Jetmart. Banks will also be occupying space at the new centres.

McCormick says MPD specialises in the development of shopping centres in previously disadvantaged areas. “In a lot of these areas there is huge demand for retail and in a lot of these areas there aren’t modern amenities,” he says.