eThekwini Municipality says the proposed R980 million Durban Amusement Park has received approval for project-development funding from an unnamed development finance institution. The 21 October 2026 announcement concerns statutory, detailed-planning and technical work; it does not establish that the full construction cost has been financed.
The city says the design stage is complete and technical planning is under way. It expects statutory development work to run until the end of the first quarter of 2027, with construction to follow, but gives no construction start, completion or opening date.
The project is proposed for the former Durban Funworld site under a long-term development lease. Plans include amusement rides, an extended-reality and digital zone, retail space and an upgraded amphitheatre. A December 2025 municipal statement named Masithu Consulting and Project Managers as project lead and described the scheme as a R1 billion development; the latest statement uses R980 million.
The municipality forecasts about 1,400 jobs across construction and operations and says the project forms part of more than R2 billion in beachfront investment spent or committed. These are municipal projections, not recorded outcomes.
The public statement does not identify the development finance institution, state the approved development-funding amount or disclose the full financing structure, lease term, rent, procurement reference or construction contract. Those records, together with statutory approvals and a funded construction programme, are the next evidence needed to test delivery.
What it means
Development-stage funding moves the long-planned Funworld redevelopment into statutory and technical preparation, but the disclosed record stops short of showing a fully financed construction project.
Correction history
No material correction is recorded for this article as of 22 October 2026. Any correction will be listed on the corrections register.