Philippi residents will no longer have to travel outside their area to do their shopping, as the multimillion-rand Junxion Mall is set to open its doors soon.

Construction of the R500million development on the corner of Govan Mbeki Drive and New Eisleben Road started in February last year.

It will be home to stores such as Pick n Pay and Boxer Supermarket, with several food outlets also conducting business in the mall.

According to the Philippi Development Forum, many people from the area were employed during the construction phase and 39 local subcontractors benefited from the project, which created more than 2000 jobs.

Forum chairperson Monwabisi Mbaliswano said: “This mall has come at the right time. We applaud the investors for bringing development in the area.

"Investors fear to come to our areas because of crime but we have assured business people that we will work with them at all times.

“This mall is a service brought closer to the struggling community. As soon as the mall opens there will be no need for people to travel far to do their shopping.

"This mall is definitely going to bring change to the people of Philippi and Brown’s Farm,” Mbaliswano added.

Samora Machel resident Bethwell Manzana said: ”People have to pay for transport to get to a mall. Now we have our own centre where you can just walk without having to spend a cent on transport. But when it comes to employment, we wish they'd employ people on merit."