May 24, 2005
By Ndaba Dlamini
WORK on Cosmo City, an integrated housing development in the north of Johannesburg, has started in earnest and the construction of bulk and link services is at an advanced stage.
The City injected R100-million into putting in the services, which is expected to be completed by June.
Des Hughes, the project manager for Cosmo City, said people would start moving into the new houses by August this year. He was speaking to mayoral committee member Hilda Mokoena and council officials during a tour of the estate on Monday, 23 May.
Des Hughes takes Hilda Mokoena through the Cosmo City model
The delegation was taken on a tour of the site offices and the conservation areas, and viewed two subsidised show houses.
Mokoena said she was ecstatic the long awaited project was finally getting off the ground. "As the minister of housing [Lindiwe Sisulu] said, this is a landmark project to house South Africa's people."
Hughes presented a scaled-down model of the development to the delegation. "The actual construction of houses in the first phase of the project will start soon. Phase one will consist of Cosmo Extension Proper, Extension Two and Extension Three."
It was planned that 12 500 houses would be completed by the end of 2007.
Types of houses
Four different types of housing will be constructed on the 1 100 hectare site, Hughes said. These would include:
- 5 000 fully subsidised units of 32m² on plots of 250m². Only those people earning less than R1 500 a month qualify for these houses;
- 3 000 credit-linked units, which are partially subsidised and 60m² in size. People earning R3 500 a month will qualify for these houses;
- 3 300 fully bonded houses that will be sold on the open market; and
- 1 000 institutional units that will be flats for rent.
Only South African citizens may get the subsidised units. The fully bonded houses were being sold on the open market from R275 000 and the highest sold so far was R675 000, Hughes said. "All the bonded units, which are in high demand, have been sold out."
Hughes said 12 schools have been planned for Cosmo City, and these would be set up to attract children from all the different sections of the housing estate.
Set aside for institutional use were 40 sites to be used for clinics or churches and 30 sites for commercial use, of which the largest was about 8 000m².
Municipal sites, which were "scattered all over the project site", would cater for municipal offices, taxi ranks, clinics and crè
ches.
"The municipal offices will have to be established as soon as possible because we are expecting people to be moving in by August this year," Hughes said.
"They will have to find all the facilities in place to pay their electricity and water bills. An industrial park is also a priority so that work opportunities are developed for Cosmo City residents."
Recreation opportunities for residents had also been taken into account during the planning, Hughes said, adding that every house would be within 10 minutes walk of a park.
City officials were given a guided tour of Cosmo City.
Attractive housing
Set on an grassy, undulating plain with two spruits converging on the northern edge of the site, the estate was set to be one of the most attractive and exciting housing developments in the country, Hughes said.
Fenced conservation areas had been set up, covering about 200 hectares. "Access to the conservation areas will be strictly controlled. People working here have been taken through an induction course in environmental conservation and health safety. Environment conservation is one of our priorities."
Hughes said the 47km fence around the conservation areas R17-million. Cosmo City is home to a number of plant species unique to the site. About 1 900 plant species were found at the site, some of which would be transplanted to plant conservation areas like the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens near Roodepoort.
Opportunities for local people in the construction had been created, with a substantial number of former farm workers now living in the vicinity working at the site. "We are happy to say that the people who are building Cosmo City are people who are also going to own houses on the site."
The delegation visited the two houses unveiled by Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa on 4 April.
After the tour, Amanda Nair, the executive director for development planning, transportation and environment, said the project was the first, fully integrated development scheme in Johannesburg, which catered for people across a range of incomes.
"This development will certainly alleviate the problem of housing in the city and boost employment and job creation. Actually, this is the first project of its kind in the country," she concluded.
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