December 15, 2004
By Ndaba Dlamini
THE City of Johannesburg has made R75-million available for the "immediate commencement" of the long-awaited Cosmo City Project, an integrated development scheme to the north of Johannesburg.
The money will cover the implementation cost of bulk and link services until June 2005. Cosmo City project manager, Des Hughes, says construction of bulk and link infrastructure is expected to commence in January 2005.
"The City of Johannesburg will provide all engineering bulk and link services for the project. The surveying of the first phase of the site is complete and the construction of the environmental fencing has commenced."
As one of the conditions for the approval of the project, the Gauteng Department of Environment and Conservation required that all conservation areas be fenced before construction could commence. Fencing is expected to cost approximately R12-million for the first phase of the project.
Cosmo City is expected to cost about R2-billion to complete, says Hughes. Funding for the project, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2007, will come from the private sector and government.
Cosmo City will have 12 500 housing units
"Funding will emanate from various sources. The Gauteng Department of Housing will provide subsidies for housing whilst funding for engineering internal services will be provided by Codevco, the Gauteng Department of Housing and the City of Johannesburg."
Codevco, the Cosmo City developers, is a partnership between Basil Read, one of South Africa's oldest construction companies, and Kopano ke Matla, a trust "dedicated to the pursuit of investment opportunities that will directly contribute to the empowerment and upliftment of Congress of Southern African Trade Unions (Cosatu) members". Cosatu is the sole beneficiary of Kopano.
Codevco was appointed by the City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Department of Housing "to ensure that development of Cosmo City is carried out properly and successfully", according to Hughes.
The Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs (DME) will pay funding for electrification of the project directly to the City of Johannesburg. This was after agreement between the City and DME, when Eskom, the licence operator and service provider to the region, opted out due "to the project being delayed".
City Power will design, install and manage the electrical infrastructure and hand over to Eskom for maintenance.
"Commercial and industrial sites, churches and other sites will be sold on the open market and the Department of Education will foot the bill for schools development. The development costs of housing units will be borne by Codevco," explained Hughes.
The City of Johannesburg gave responsibility to Codevco for the construction process. However, Hughes says, the City will carry out its own plans for the parcels of land earmarked for the City.
The construction of Cosmo City housing will be done in two phases. Phase One will consist of Cosmo Extension Proper, Extension Two, and Extension Three. Phase Two is expected to commence before the end of Phase One.
"The construction of the first houses is expected to commence in March 2005 and all 12 500 housing units are planned to be complete by the end of 2007," says Hughes.
Cosmo City will consist of four different types of housing. These will include:
- 5 000 fully subsidised units in the order of 32m² on plots of 250m².
- 3 000 credit linked units which are partially subsidised and about 60 m².
- 3 300 fully bonded houses which will be sold on the open market.
- 1 000 institutional units which will be apartments for rent.
Part of the City of Johannesburg's drive to eradicate informal settlements by 2008 and provide housing to city dwellers, the project will give preference to residents from the nearby Zevenfontein, Zandspruit and River Bend informal settlements. The project is also expected to create hundreds of jobs and "stimulate economic activity" in the area.
Cosmo City covers an area of about 1 200 hectares, of which about 200 hectares will be for open spaces and conservation. A further 100 hectares have been set aside for commercial and industrial purposes and 15 will be used for schools, clinics and other social services.
Since the idea to develop the site was mooted in 2001, the Cosmo City project has met with resistance from "wealthy" property owners - members of the Jukskei Crocodile Catchment Area Forum - who argued that the value of their properties could be negatively affected by the development.
The property owners applied to the Johannesburg High Court, opposing the development. The forum's application was withdrawn after it failed to send legal representatives to the court hearing and failed to meet a deadline to put in place security to cover legal costs.
The Provincial Township Board dismissed the appeal of the objectors on 6 October 2004 and has paved way for the project to proceed towards proclamation, according to a report from the City's Development Planning, Transportation and Environment Department.
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