November 19, 2002
By Mandisi Majavu
A BRIEF ceremony marked the official opening of the R140-million Metro Mall in Bree Street on Monday.
Traders have been manning their stalls since August and taxis have been loading passengers in this transport interchange and trading facility but buses have not yet started using the facility.
The idea is the brainchild of Blue IQ, a multi-billion rand initiative of the Gauteng Provincial Government to invest in economic infrastructure development.
Metro Mall was established to serve as a market place for Johannesburg's informal and formal traders as well as a rank for taxis and buses carrying commuters into and out of Johannesburg.
It can accommodate 2 250 taxis and 100 buses at any given time. It is also a hub for about 450 informal traders, who are trading side by side with formal retailers - big names like Pie City and Standard Bank.
However, says Metropolitan Trading Company CEO, Keith Atkins, the idea is to encourage small entrepreneurs to sign up.
"This mall will play a critical social and economic development role. It will support a conducive trading environment for both formal and informal traders, while providing easier access to the commuters into and out of the city," says City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor Amos Masondo.
About 70 percent of the 2 832 metre square of the formal retail space has been allocated.
On Monday, after the opening, business among the fruit and vegetable stands did not seem particularly brisk, and many of the hawkers had yet to come to terms with the concept of paying rent for space.
But there were plenty of customers for the taxis, who barely had time to glimpse at the murals painted by a group of local artists - a task that Atkins says took 18 months.
Blue IQ believes the mall has been designed and will be maintained in such a way that the safety and security of users is paramount. It boasts such facilities as closed circuit and security personnel on guard throughout the day.
It also has fire protection equipments, storage facilities for informal traders, electricity, water, ablution facilities, preparation areas, manufacturing space for craftsmen and as well as lock-up units.
Metro Mall forms part of Newtown, also a Blue IQ project, which aims at inner city regeneration and promotion of cultural industries. The project entails several improvements of the area, all aimed at making the area safe, accessible, habitable and generally attractive to its inhabitants and investors, according to Blue IQ.
As Masondo puts it, the whole project is the first step to building a world class African city.
