BUILDING
SMART Plans for the development of the Lanseria Smart City are becoming more tangible, writes Trevor Crighton
T
he Master Planning Process for the first new city to be built in South Africa since 1994 – Lanseria Smart City – is complete. The process was completed under the guidance of a project steering committee, convened by the Presidency and including all relevant local governments. “The master plan is key to designing a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for bulk infrastructure, through which a Development Bank of Parks Tau South Africa (DBSA) loan will cover the costs of bulk and be recovered through claiming a percentage of the future service charges developers and residents will pay – rates, developer contributions, service charges, portions of grants and the like,” says Parks Tau, Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development.
KEY CONSULTATION In the course of concluding the master plan, consultative webinars have been held with property developers, large landowners and experts in waste, water and electricity infrastructure, roads and transport networks, human settlements, social infrastructure leads, and ICT experts, as well as various local community clusters. “The project was presented at the Small Island Developing States Summit as an investible pipeline project and will now be gazetted as a systematic investment plan. The Gauteng Department of Economic Development has set aside funding and has commissioned a dedicated project management unit (PMU), via DBSA to drive the project,” says Tau.
SMART TECH The component elements of the smart city are being conceptualised through private sector engagements and will now be driven through the Smart City Institute with the University of Johannesburg. These elements will include free basic broadband; sandboxing for smart governance using blockchain technology, internet of things and artificial intelligence, as well as building support for a gig economy and digital economy workforce into all design elements.
FINDING FUNDING The Lanseria Smart City PMU, announced in the first quarter of 2022, is currently working with developer clusters to support a tradeable
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VOICE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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property rights regime to align with the master plan, which will also support the establishment of a hi-tech special economic zone (SEZ). This will directly support clusters that contribute to green urban technology, communications technology and a research and development city cluster. The department will undertake roadshows over the next few months to introduce the project management team to developers, once appointed. As a key public sector initiative, the department is collaborating with the Government Technical Advisory Centre on a project development process to integrate various landholders who want to be part of the Lanseria Hi-Tech SEZ through the proposed real estate investment trust structure. “The total bulk infrastructure required for the project is estimated at R13.5-billion over the next 15 years and bundling the full costs of establishing wastewater treatment works, which serves a wider area, pushes the total to R14.5-billion,” says Tau. “The intent is to provide the bulk infrastructure for Lanseria through the establishment of a dedicated SPV under the Vumela mechanism via the DBSA, that will serve as the vehicle through which funding for the bulk infrastructure is raised. This will be done against future revenues flowing from the new developments, which will bring the master plan to life, with provision of bulk matched to timing of development need.” Phase 1 roll out – the roll out of bulk infrastructure to support years 1 to 5 of the development pipeline – is expected to start in the third quarter of this year. Plans for the Lanseria Smart City – originally known as Cradle City – started in 2007 as an aerotropolis concept. The Lanseria region, which lies on the boundary of four different municipalities, has a large enough footprint to facilitate structured growth, avoiding urban sprawl. The development aims to create the first post-apartheid city in South Africa based on “best practice” in urban sustainability and global smart city principles, with Lanseria Airport at its heart as the main economic driver. It is estimated that the project will take 25 years to complete. ▪
ISSUE 39
2022/06/30 4:19 PM
