Durban — The eThekwini Municipality began its Inner City Regeneration Programme with the demolition of China Emporium on Friday as they attempt to restore the CBD to its “heydays” and attract investors. And promised to re-purpose other buildings in this precinct that are in bad condition, like the old Post Office building.
Phakade Mchunu, the municipality’s chief fire officer, addressed City officials, politicians and members of the media at the building site and provided a report that detailed the extent to which fire damaged China Emporium and rendered it unsafe.
The blaze ripped through mainly the lower levels of the building on Dr Pixley Kaseme Street on January 21, 2022, and has remained an eyesore ever since.
“It would have been better if the fire had started on the higher levels of the building because firefighters would have penetrated the blaze easily and extinguished it faster. It started at the bottom, which made it difficult to extinguish as people exited. The fire quickly spread to the walls, and cracks are visible around the joints and corners.”
Mchunu said a structural engineer warned firefighters to leave the building at the time because it was likely to collapse. Firefighters continued to extinguish the inferno from the outside and there were no casualties.
To mark the beginning of the end for the Emporium, structural engineer Jacques van Heerden oversaw a mock demolition of the building, with the invitees looking on.
Deputy city manager Lihle Phewa said they had a team working on the re-purposing of inner city buildings in poor condition, like the Post Office.
Phewa said after the fire, the necessary safety measures were put in place to ensure compliance from the owners and they also went to court to have it demolished, mainly for the sake of public safety. “The court gave us the green light to have it demolished. The cost of the demolition will be about R17 million,” he said.
Ethekwini’s acting head of Development Planning, Environment Management, Sbu Ndebele, said their budget for the current financial year ended in June, which necessitated the demolition before that deadline.
“Anything that is done in this space must be in line with our zoning of the area. We don’t know yet who will acquire this space.”
He said they encouraged foreign investors to enter the country legally and invest in order to generate jobs.
“The inner city regeneration is mainly to restore it to its heyday and attract investors,” said Ndebele.
Chairperson of the city’s Economic Development Committee, councillor Thembo Ntuli, said he was excited that the demolition day had arrived, as it was necessary as the building was a danger to members of the public and homeless people who took shelter there.
He said the owner of the building now owed the City for the cost of the demolition; they also had in their sights other owners who had damaged buildings and encouraged the public to direct complaints about buildings to his department.
“As councillors in the CBD, we feel the pressure because tenants come to us with complaints about their living conditions. We are no longer allowing such buildings to taint the image of the city, which reflects badly on the municipality,” said Ntuli.
Sunday Tribune