City of Cape Town cancels Foreshore Freeway Precinct project

Cape Town’s famous unfinished freeway will remain as it is, after the City announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling its ambitious Foreshore Freeway Precinct project.

“The City of Cape Town’s City Manager has, upon receiving legal advice, taken the decision to cancel the Request for Proposals (RfP) for the development of the Foreshore Freeway Precinct,” a statement read. The six bidders were informed on July 13.

The cancellation was due to problems with the procurement process, where the evaluation criteria in the Request for Proposals (RfP) for the bidders was found to be vague. This was based on legal opinion sought after complaints by some of the bidders.

“Furthermore, the economic outlook for the country has become significantly weaker since the issuing of the RfP two years ago,” read the statement.

“This change, together with the additional burdens that the City, its ratepayers, and residents are facing at the moment, cannot be ignored. The City is, therefore, reconsidering the future of this project, and we will communicate further once a decision has been made.”

City manager Lungelo Mbandazayo thanked bidders who submitted proposals. Mitchell Du Plessis Projects, trading as Mitchell Du Plessis Associates (MDA), was announced as the qualifying bidder in February. Their proposal included finishing the highway and building a combination of approximately 3 200 market-related residential units and a minimum of 450 affordable residential units.