Lanseria Cyril Ramaphosa SONA 2020

Photo: PresidencyZA / Twitter

South Africa is getting ‘a new city’, Ramaphosa confirms at SONA 2020

The location might come as a surprise, but Cyril Ramaphosa’s desire to build a “new city” in South Africa was renewed during SONA 2020.

Lanseria Cyril Ramaphosa SONA 2020

Photo: PresidencyZA / Twitter

Cyril Ramaphosa was roundly laughed out of Parliament last year when he started telling us all what a dreamer he is. Well, a hostile response to his fantasies about bullet trains and new cities hasn’t deterred him at SONA 2020. The president revealed that a site in Lanseria has now been chosen to host a brand new metropolis, revealing:

“Last year, I asked the nation to join me in imagining a new smart-city, a truly post-apartheid city that would rise to change the social and economic apartheid spatial architecture.

“Working with development finance institutions we have put together an innovative process that will fund the bulk sewerage, electricity, water, digital infrastructure and roads that will be the foundation of the new city in Lanseria.”

Cyril Ramaphosa at SONA 2020

And the winner is… Lanseria!

Okay, so the new city isn’t actually a brand new city. Lanseria actually has an airport and a strong population base. But Ramaphosa wants to take these foundations and turn it into a “smart city”. However, the president has been criticised for “daydreaming”, and diverting attention away from existing cities that need help.

We’d say there are seven things – all revealed during SONA 2020 – that you need to know about these plans:

  • Lanseria is in the north-west of Gauteng.
  • It’s estimated that 350 000 to 500 000 more people will call this place home within the next decade.
  • The process is being led by the Investment and Infrastructure Office in the Presidency alongside provincial governments, working together with the cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Madibeng.
  • As revealed at SONA 2020, this innovative process will allegedly self-fund the bulk sewerage, electricity, water, digital infrastructure and roads that will be the foundation of the new city.
  • It will not only be smart and 5G ready, but will be a leading benchmark for green infrastructure continental and internationally.
  • The ANC will be piloting an alternative rural roads programme in Lanseria, during which four experimental road stretches of 50km each will be constructed.
  • This “new city” initiative will ensure cost effective solutions for the State, meaningful skills transfer and higher potential for labour intensive job creation than conventional roads construction methods.

What else did Cyril Ramaphosa say at SONA 2020?

We’ve got the 16 biggest talking points here.