Construction work has begun on the long-awaited Leeuwpoort mega housing project.
According to the Ward 34 councillor, Charlie Crawford, construction crews from the main contractor, Gauflora, and its subcontractors are busy with civil works.
This includes construction of roads, streets, sewerage system, stormwater system, parks and the removal of unwanted vegetation.
“Once the construction on the infrastructure has been completed, workers will in the next few months begin with the construction the thousands of four storey walk-up residential units, and hundreds of RDP houses,” said Crawford.
Kalamazoo informal settlement and the old mine hostel on St Anthony’s Road will be demolished to make way for the mega housing project.
The hostel and Kalamazoo residents will apparently be relocated, but it is still unclear as to where these people will be relocated to. The Joe Slovo informal settlement will, however, remain for now.
Crawford said he welcomed the project with open arms because it will help address the housing backlog in the area.
“Reiger Park is one of the overcrowded Gauteng townships, where you find grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents and children sharing one family unit. To make the situation even worse, others have because of the difficult economic situation resorted to building shacks and rooms to rent out.
“I’m glad that this project will at least alleviate the situation,” said Crawford.
The Reiger Park project forms part of the metro’s Leeuwpoort integrated mega housing development in Boksburg, and the entire project is expected to be completed in five years’ time.
Once completed, the affected areas will see the well-off and the poor living side-by-side as this project will be offering bonded, subsidised and affordable housing, all in the same area.
The project is expected to also create more job opportunities for the people of Ekurhuleni and across the province.
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