Description of the attraction
Century City (City of the Century) can be safely called a city within a city. It is located almost in the heart of Cape Town, 10 km northeast of its center, against the backdrop of Table Mountain. On the territory of 250 hectares, there is a large number of office, residential, retail, sports and entertainment facilities that meet all the requirements of modern society.
In the center of Century City are its green lungs - Intaka Island. The reserve is located on 16 hectares of wetland territory, rich in a wide variety of bird species and native plants. Formerly known as Bluewley, Intaka Island and its surrounding wetlands consist of 8 hectares of the island itself, 8 hectares of reconstructed wetlands that serve to purify water, and 6 km of navigable canals linking different sections of Century City. …
Work on the Century City project began in 1997 by construction firm Monex Development with investments exceeding ZAR 10 billion and is currently continued by its new owner, Rabie Property Group.
The earliest to be built were Ratanga Junction Theme Park and Canal Walk Shopping Center. Despite the high costs during construction, reduced off-season attendance and occasional closures during major conferences, Ratanga Junction has proven to be profitable. The Canal Walk area also had to be increased from 125,000 square meters to 141,000 square meters in order to meet demand. There were also concerns that the construction of Century City would lead to the decentralization of Cape Town's business district, but thanks to improvements made by the city's leadership, this did not happen. Thus, Century City has become another commercial and business center in the capital of South Africa.
Canal Walk, opened in 2000, has become the largest shopping center in Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. At present, on its 141,000 square meters, there are more than 400 shops, 20 cinemas, many restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as a large entertainment center.
In 2009, two 11-storey buildings appeared next to the Canal Walk shopping and entertainment center. They house a 5-star hotel with 180 rooms, as well as a luxurious office center. Nearby there are other hotels, shopping centers and multi-level residential complexes for people of different incomes.
In 2009, Century City was voted South Africa's Best Contemporary Middle-class Neighborhood by the South African business magazine Finweek.
