Cape Town to spend R1.2bn on housing projects

Cape Town to spend R1.2bn on housing projects

The City of Cape Town has approved R1.2 billion to fund seven housing projects over the next five years.

Tandeka Gqada, mayoral committee member for human settlements, said yesterday the council gave the go-ahead on December 4 for the expenditure and that it would increase the city's housing delivery.

The city was responding to an extremely high rate of urbanisation, she said.

The projects planned are new houses, conversion of apartheid-era style hostels in Langa, and ongoing upgrades to the living conditions of backyard dwellers and residents in informal settlements.

There are three new housing projects planned - Macassar near Strand, Fisantekraal near Durbanville and Imizamo Yethu settlement in Hout Bay.

The Macassar project will cost R62.5 million, excluding funds from the National Treasury and is expected to provide 1 700 new housing units, Gqada said.

In Fisantekraal the city will spend R87.9m for the development of subsidised housing.

This project will be developed on land held by the nonprofit organisation Garden Cities.

In Imizamo Yethu the city will spend R105m on phase three of the housing project that is under way.

Work on this phase will start after July and continue until 2017.

The city plans to spend R320m on upgrading hostels in Langa into 463 rental apartments.

Gqada said the city planned to relocate 1 300 families from apartheid-era hostels to secure two-bedroomed apartments in Langa.

These apartments will have individual kitchens, toilets, showers and solar-heated water systems.

Outdoors there would be washing lines and space for children to play safely in the grounds.

Gqada said the city would also spend R600m on upgrading the living conditions of backyard dwellers and residents in informal settlement across the city.

The majority of these projects are scheduled to start in July at the beginning of the new 2014/15 financial year.

Cape Times

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