A KwaZulu-Natal business magnate, Pran Shree, believes in being at the head of the pack, a business philosophy demanding boldness and a visionary attitude.

Shree is the epitome of an entrepreneur. Leaving school to run a humble family-owned butchery, he quickly developed a new business vision, expanding into meat cold storage and then growing the operation to include the biggest fruit export facility in the southern hemisphere, with warehouses close to Durban's seaport.

He established Shree Property Holdings in 2007 as a property development enterprise, bringing to market AAA-grade, new generation warehousing. The business rapidly gained traction and today Shree heads an expanding property portfolio of more than 800 000m2, comprising more than 70 properties and landing a string of 'blue-chip' clients, including Unilever and Samsung.

Delivering turnkey solutions to storage, logistical, commercial and residential requirements; Shree's business interests now criss-cross South Africa, Mauritius, Africa and the USA. As a man of vision, Shree is ever on the lookout for new business prospects.

"I live outside the box, seeing what others don't and with the advent of Dube TradePort and King Shaka International Airport, I recognised an opportunity to link the seaport and airport, by establishing facilities in Dube TradeZone," Shree said of a 2012 decision to become the first private sector operator to invest in this industrial hub.

His bold decision led to the creation of Pran Park, heralding a massive vote of confidence in the emergent airport city.

"Today's business demands speed, agility and connectivity - components entrenched in the growth of airport cities. This is the future and I could envision the potential, making it a business imperative to locate close to the airport. As a logistics enterprise operating nationally and internationally, we use sea, air and land to connect clients with the world. It's about positioning and Pran Park affords ease of access to the airport's cargo facilities and to two major seaports, Durban and Richards Bay."

Pran Park comprises 150 000m2 of prime industrial space adjacent to the airport, 30km north of central Durban. Shree said a strategic decision was taken to construct AAA-grade industrial warehouses here, catering for clients requiring large storage and manufacturing facilities boasting direct cargo terminal access and rapidly growing air connectivity with national and international destinations.

"Being the first private sector investor, we took a calculated risk in developing property in an untried environment. However, my vision was proved correct and we have reaped the benefits of being at the leading-edge of business development here and first to serve a rapidly-growing market, more so because of the area's zoning as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), affording companies access to available government incentives," Shree said.

The Pran Park development decision was based on Shree's keen knowledge of both South Africa's property and logistics sectors, coupled with his foresight about potential growth. It was his decisiveness of thought and boldness of action which put Pran Park on Durban's property map, unlocking an exceptional and easily accessible inter-modal operating environment.

Construction was undertaken in 2013, bringing on-stream six new facilities designed, primarily, for manufacturing and assembly plants and attracting a range of blue-chip tenants, inclusive of Samsung South Africa (manufacture of micro-chips and assembly and distribution of LED televisions), Yangtze Africa Cable (manufacture and distribution of fibre-optic cables), Tufbag (manufacture of woven polypropylene sacks and bulk bags), HBM-SA Health Protection Services (manufacture of health products), Enlight Techno Solutions (assembly and distribution of educational technological solutions), Rossi (assembly and distribution of industrial gear products) and Pilosio (South African headquarters and storage of scaffolding and formwork).

Pran Park has quickly evolved into another Shree Property Holdings success, thanks to the company's ability to attract blue-chip clients eager to realise SEZ advantages and requiring rapid set-up solutions, so becoming fully operational manufacturers, assemblers and distributors of products in the business gateway to South Africa... and the world.

Shree stressed, "We set out to provide 'Greenfield' operational facility solutions, whilst creating a substantial presence in the area and stimulating employment creation. By 2016 Pran Park was complete and tenanted and becoming an instant hit, securing more than R1,3 billion in foreign direct investment and creating more
than 1 500 sustainable jobs."