Civil Engineering November 2022 | Vol 30 No 10

26 November 2022 Civil Engineering A gainst the backdrop of a huge national housing backlog, especially in Gauteng and specifically the East Rand (Ekurhuleni region), Cosmopolitan Projects launched the Watervalspruit Mega Housing Development on 1 June 2016. The Watervalspruit project, now named The Sky City Housing Project, is situated south of Alberton, north of the border of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and Midvaal Municipality, east of the R59. The conceptual planning, town-plan- ning and preliminary designs on this pro- ject started as early as 2005, with expected completion of the entire project scheduled for December 2025. The development consists of 15 358 residential units that will be developed and completed within 11 phases over a period of 8 to 10 years. The Sky City Housing Project therefore qualifies as a mega housing development in terms of the National Human Settlements Department’s ‘informal’ definition, namely providing more than 10 000 residential affordable housing opportunities. Sky City provides housing to a group of people typically referred to as the “missing gap” when it comes to housing beneficiaries, i.e. people with a combined monthly household earning of more than R 3 000 who do not qualify for RDP housing grants, but who cannot afford higher upper class houses of above R500 000. These are people who earn at least R10 500 per month. Beneficiaries who qualify for the Financial Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP) will also be catered for on this housing project. The project submitted for review includes Node 3 and Node 4 and of the Sky City Residential Development and comprises provision of bulk and internal engineering services to 2 300 RES 1 stands, a shopping centre, filling station, taxi rank, two private schools and three social node stands for community facilities, at a cost of approximately R181 526 545 million. A DEVELOPMENT WITH A DIFFERENCE The Sky City project differs significantly from most other conventional housing projects in that it is designed so that the community can immediately benefit from the amenities included in the project. Sky City stands in stark contrast to conventional housing developments where amenities such as schools, shopping centres, parks and so forth are the responsibility of provincial and national government depart- ments and often only implemented long after the housing development is launched. By virtue of its definition as a mega pro- ject, its monetary value, the large number of different professionals and experts required, as well as the large scope of works of ser- vices designed and constructed, the project is also not a conventional housing project from an engineering perspective. The complexity and sophistication of the project can be illustrated by the large scope of works designed and constructed, including: Q Q 1 964 km of bulk water supply line Q Q 13 033 km of internal water reticula- tion pipelines Q Q 16 250 km of internal sewer reticula- tion pipelines Q Q 5 764 km of bulk and internal storm- water drainage pipelines Q Q 15 162 km of tarred roads Q Q 16 261 km of walkways Q Q Two major Gautrans intersections Q Q 28 km of electrical reticulation Q Q An electrical sub-station. SOCIAL IMPACT The project will provide approximately 2 300 families with affordable, decent homes, top quality basic municipal services, schools, and social nodes. This is the second phase of roughly 15 358 families who will benefit from the total project. An affordable private school (Royal School) was also launched this year and has commenced with classes. Over 20 000 man-days of local jobs were created for the labour force from neighbouring Palm Ridge townships during this first phase of construction, and SANRAL SA I CE 2022 Nat i onal Awards Category: Techn i cal Excellence FINALIST Technical Excellence category (Sponsored by SKI Civil and Structural Engineers) KEY PLAYERS Client: Cosmopolitan Projects Consultant: Infraconsult Engineering Contractor: Kwa Mhlanga Construction Sky City (Watervalspruit) Mega Housing Development Node 3 & 4 Sky City will consist of 15 358 residential units