- Cape Town has secured an additional R3.5 billion for infrastructure investment, extending its total planned spend to R39.5 billion from July 2024 to June 2027.
- This funding aims to create 130,000 construction-related jobs and prioritise lower-income household infrastructure needs.
- This marks it as South Africa’s largest municipal infrastructure investment.
A further R3,5 billion cash injection in the City of Cape Town’s infrastructure investment, over three years, was secured last Monday (24 June).
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis conducted the signing ceremony with one of the country’s banking giants following council’s granting the green light on Wednesday 12 June.
Cape Town plans to spend R39,5 billion on infrastructure from this month (July) to June 2027, as approved in its “Building For Jobs” budget.
This, according to the City, is South Africa’s largest-ever three-year infrastructure investment by a metropolitan municipality.
Cape Town accounted for a full 60% of the R100 billion in overall government infrastructure projects announced nationally last year, according to Nedbank’s updated Capital Expenditure Project Listing for 2023, published in February of this year.
“We are pleased to secure further finance towards our ambitious infrastructure investment agenda, which we estimate will create 130 000 construction-related jobs alone over three years,” Hill-Lewis announced.
Lower-income households will also directly benefit from 75% (or R9 billion) of Cape Town’s R12 billion infrastructure spend in 2024-’25.
Hill-Lewis said this pro-poor infrastructure spend in 2024-’25 is bigger than the entire infrastructure budget of any other metro.
“Cape Town will soon be SA’s most populous city, and we are preparing for this by targeting our fastest-growing, and poorest areas, with infrastructure projects that will, over time, unstitch the unjust legacy of our country’s past.”
People’s Post inquired from the City whether the Southern Suburbs are earmarked for areas with high numbers of recipients waiting on formal housing.
City’s Mayco member for human settlements Carl Pophaim responded, saying the City has numerous projects in various stages in the Hout Bay area.
“The Hangberg Housing Project Phase 2 aims to provide opportunities within the Hangberg area by identifying suitable land parcels for Breaking New Ground (BNG) housing and conducting an occupancy survey to assess the housing needs of the community.”
“Apart from subsidy housing, it has also in the last ten years built new community residential units in Hangberg.”
The City’s 10-year pipeline is valued at an estimated R120 billion.
In October last year, the City published a request for funding proposals (RFP) regarding financial years 2023-’24 and 2024-’25, which was followed by extensive engagements with local and international lenders.
Alongside the Nedbank finance approval in June, City Council further approved $150 million in finance from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and in April last year, greenlit €100 million developmental financing from the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD).
A blended finance model is guiding this venture, which includes funding from the City’s own healthy balance sheet, as well as finance from the local and international markets.
Further financing agreements are set to serve before Council during the 2024-’25 financial year regarding the balance of the funding requirements.
