The developer of Amazon's proposed African headquarters has said it has lodged leave to appeal a ruling suspending construction of the R4.5bn project.

As previously reported, Western Cape High Court Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath has ruled that the River Club development in Cape Town must be halted.

Its developers were ordered to ‘consult meaningfully’ with the affected parties.

The Observatory Civic Association and Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council had argued that the land in question was one of the remaining undeveloped grazing lands the Khoekhoe use for their cattle.

Fin24 reports that the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust has now lodged court papers seeking leave to appeal.

The group said that if the order suspending construction remained in place, some 6 000 direct and 19 000 indirect jobs would be lost.

Around 750 construction workers have already been sent home.

The trust said the court had failed to consider the ‘severe and irreversible harm’ that the Cape Town community would suffer if construction didn't restart.

It added it was planning to construct a ‘Heritage, Cultural and Media Centre’ to preserve the ‘intangible cultural heritage’ of the Cape Peninsula Khoi and their future generations.

Full Fin24 report