Plans announced for Pretoria development

PLANS have been announced to develop the old West Fort Hospital site in Pretoria into a major tourist attraction.
According to the West Fort Community Development Consortium - that purchased the land and its 250 buildings from the Gauteng government in 1999 - it will, upon completion, consist of residential units, a literary museum and village library, community theatre, a 15-bed village clinic, four hotels, an international school and boarding school, ten restaurant sites, a post office and its own fresh food and products market.
According to one of the developers, Linda Mvusi, the site to be renamed West Fort, will consist of three types of village models all in one, namely the 'urban', 'heritage' and 'country' village.
"The plan is to develop the village in such a way that no one will be more that 15 minutes away from their work, schools, shops, theatre or clinic. Some of the site's western-style buildings date back to the late 19th century, while the remains of the baVenda village date back to the 16th century," said Mvusi.
"It is envisaged that the entire project will be completed at the end of 2008, creating an estimated
7 000 jobs," concluded Mvusi.

(Miguel de Sousa)