A bold, multi-billion-pound infrastructure project in South Africa promises to deliver a “truly post-apartheid city”, complete with a cutting-edge water-treatment plant.
The country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in his 2020 State of the Nation address that the country would be getting a smart city near Lanseria Airport in the western part of Gauteng, as per MyBroadband.
“A new smart city is taking shape in Lanseria, which 350,000 to 500,000 people will call home within the next decade,” Ramaphosa said.
Plans for project, intially known as Cradle City began in 2007 with the idea of creating the country’s first city built around an airport, in this case Lanseria International Airport, which serves the Johannesburg metropolitan area.
Under the plans, estimated to cost 500billion South African Rands (around £21billion), the airport would be at the heart of the city, functioning as an economic driver the growth of the city.
The airport currently sees around 3.5 million passengers per year, but its hoped a major revamp will see it once day accomodating 18 to 20 million.
As well as limiting how much residents need to use transport by prioritising walkable streets, the plans also include up-to-date infrastructure for cell phones, Wi-Fi, information networks as well as high-speed broadband connectivity to make it easy for businesses and locals to work and connect.
Authorities expect strong residential growth in the surrounding areas supported by improvements to existing road network, according to the outlet.
Authorities foresee a sustainable and technologically advanced city being built around the travel hub, the goal of creating a smart city that “uses current technologies and innovative urban design to improve citizens’ quality of life, infrastructure, and economic growth”, TR Media reports.
The city envions the creation of an “integrated urban ecosystem”, with a focus on environmental sustainability and efficient transport links, the outlet says.
The development of a high tech water-treatment plant was set to commence in October, promising to produce two megalitres per day (2MLD).
The facility is designed to address both the lack of bulk infrastructure in the Lanseria region as well as markedly reducing environmental impacts, IOL reports.
It was revealed that the works as a whole would take around 25 years to complete once contruction was greenlit.
Property investment firm Crosspoint is implement the construction of the Lanseria Airport City Mega Project in cooperation with the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements, over a ten-year-period, according to reports.
As part of the project, Crosspoint also partnered with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) for the building of a mixed-use commercial precinct known as the the Lanseria Business District, spread over 90 hectares.
However, the City of Johannesburg only adopted the provincial government’s plan for the epic metropolis in May 2021, meaning it may be some time before the smart city begins to take shape, according to MyBroadband.
Earlier this year human settlements minister Mmamoloko Kubayi revealed that the Greater Lanseria Master Plan, of which the first phase includes the high-tech city, had been completed, but acknowledged that the bulk infrastructure to support the area still needed significant amounts of investment.
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