In the continuous pursuit to position the City of Ekurhuleni as a major role player in the Gauteng city region, the city presented its Strategic Urban Development Plan to business stakeholders during the quarterly sitting of the City Meets Business meeting, in Kempton Park, on Tuesday, last week.
The city’s Strategic Urban Development (SUD) plan is a large-scale strategy which guides development in city, as it envisaged in the Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) 2055, Integrated Development Plan (IDP), Metropolitan Spatial Development Framework (MSDF) and Capital Investment Framework (CIF).
“The roll-out of the city’s urban development plans is aimed at encouraging local industrialists to get involved in the various developments of the city, and to contribute meaningfully to the greater provincial economic spectrum by participating in building the economy and ultimately attracting foreign investment into the city,” said Pieter Swanepoel, divisional head for special projects in Ekurhuleni’s City Planning Department.
Ekurhuleni currently has 10 key proposed priority developments that are critical in advancing the municipality’s goal of implementing its strategic urban development plans.
Some of these developments include Carnival Junction, in Brakpan, the Prasa-Gibela train manufacturing plant in Dunnottar, the Twenty-One Industrial Park, the Tambo Springs Inland Port, Glen Gory, Farm Leeuwpoort, Green Reef, Riversfield, Lords View and S and J.
Carnival Junction is currently a hive of construction activity, with an extensive, large-scale mixed use development, anticipated to develop in phases over the horizon of 15 to 20 years.
The development comprises of mixed land uses, varying from mega retail stores such as Makro, Build-It, Virgin Active, automotive outlets, to office parks and even a private hospital.
Recently the City of Ekurhuleni committed 72 hectares of land to the ground-breaking Prasa-Gibela train manufacturing plant in Dunnottar, which is set to create over 2 000 job opportunities.
This is one of the city’s initiatives to achieve a desired goal of being a productive industrial hub of Gauteng.
Among other major advances,the city is executing for the purpose of infrastructure development is the initial implementation phase of the Twenty-One Industrial Park, a fully-fledged mixed use development which will provide industrial, business, retail and residential opportunities.
The development is deemed a catalyst for economic development and job creation within a strategic location adjacent to the Albertina Sisulu Corridor in Kempton Park.
Ekurhuleni has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Transnet and the Gauteng Provincial Government, which allows for collaboration and co-operation towards the planned Springs Inland Port.
This hub is in line with the Gauteng spatial model located along the N3 freeway and the K146 and K148, PWV and K-routes.
“As the city we welcome the captains of industry taking interest in undertaking these major developments in our area, and we are always ready to assist where necessary, so as to allow mass participation in the development of our economy,” said Swanepoel.
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