Foreshore bids’ ‘wasted’ millions will spook investors, developers warn Cape Town

The City of Cape Town’s decision to scrap its multibillion-rand Foreshore project sends a "disturbing" message to local and international investors, says a forum of property developers in the Western Cape. City manager Lungelo Mbandazayo announced earlier this week that the project, which was meant to also tackle unfinished highways on the foreshore and to develop housing in the area, had been cancelled. This came after the city’s decision to name Mitchell du Plessis Associates as the preferred bidder for the project was challenged, with some saying the company — one of the six bidders — did not meet the city’s original bid criteria. Mbandazayo said after receiving legal advice, the city concluded that a lack of sufficient clarity in the request for proposals documentation rendered the criteria vague. Deon van Zyl, chairman of the Western Cape Property Development Forum, said all the proposals entailed multibillion-rand investment in Cape Town. The winning bidder would have  been re...