City of Cape Town to spend R2.1bn on housing

The City of Cape Town on Thursday said its Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA) will spend R2.1-billion on the development of new housing opportunities.

This comes after the TDA budget for the next financial year, starting on 1 July 2018, was set at R5.34-billion.

Brett Herron, the mayoral committee member for transport and urban development, said the TDA’s operating budget was approximately R3.6-billion, and R1.77-billion was budgeted for projects related to housing developments, roads, and public transport infrastructure.

“Most of the capital projects are located within the city’s urban inner core. This is in line with the City’s revised Municipal Spatial Development Framework which focuses on inward growth and investment. Thus, the City will keep on investing in maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure, while at the same time prioritising public investment in an urban inner core as stipulated by the Built Environment Performance Plan,” said Herron.

Herron said the urban inner core includes areas adjacent to the N1, N2, N7, and M5 highways; along the R27 to the north and Main Road to the south; along major arterials linking the Metro South-east with Bellville and Kuils River; and the Cape Town International Airport. The 2018/19 budget was allocated to 36 housing developments which were either in the planning phase, already under way, or in the process of being finalised.

Herron said that the bulk of the housing opportunities will be developed on well-located land close to public transport, jobs, government services, and public amenities. To fund the acquisition of additional well-located land parcels for future housing projects, Herron said the TDA had budgeted R155-million in the next financial year.