City to build 15 600 houses

THE City Council has approved the development of seven housing projects that will provide more than 15 600 houses.

The council’s approval of the projects on Wednesday paves the way for the City’s Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA) to conclude the seven contracts, for the appointment of teams that will oversee the housing developments.

The housing developments will be situated in Vlakteplaas in Strand; Blueberry Hill in Blue Downs; ACSA Symphony in Delft; Pelican Park; Mahama in Khayelitsha; Elsies River; and Bonteheuwel, the City said.

“Since the contracts will be in place for longer than three years, the TDA had to obtain council’s approval before the signing of the contracts could go ahead,” said Brett Herron, mayoral committee member for transport and urban development.

“Together, the seven contracts amount to R72.9 million.

‘‘Once signed, multi-disciplinary teams will oversee the planning, design and construction of 15 664 housing opportunities across Cape Town,” he said.

“The housing opportunities will become available within the next two to three years, depending on the type of development and the area where the development is taking place.”

The teams will be responsible for the land-use applications and the environmental processes preceding the developments.

“Where possible, the developments will include community facilities and commercial and retail opportunities,” Herron said.

The contracts are funded from the Urban Settlements Development Grant, as well as the Housing Development Capital Fund.

“The demand for decent housing in Cape Town is acute and is arguably one of the biggest challenges this administration is facing,” added Herron.

“We have to use all of the tools at our disposal to speed up delivery – be it from using longer-term contracts to ensure quality control to identifying well-located land for… affordable housing.” – African News Agency (ANA)