| Qualifying bidder proposes to finish highways in Foreshore Freeway Precinct | <p>It is said that we shape our cities, and thereafter our cities shape us.</p><p>This morning I was briefed on the outcome of the City’s appointed Bid Evaluation Committee evaluation of the first stage of a bid evaluation process. The outcome of this innovative and ground-breaking approach to partnering with the private sector to achieve public infrastructure is enormously exciting and has the potential to radically transform Cape Town’s spatial reality within the next decade or so.</p><p>I have been informed that Mitchell Du Plessis Projects (Pty) Ltd, trading as Mitchell Du Plessis Associates (MDA), is the qualifying bidder for the development of the Foreshore Freeway Precinct.</p><p>With this announcement we are undertaking the momentous task of reshaping an iconic but underutilised precinct on the northern edge of the Cape Town central business district (CBD).</p><p>MDA’s proposal entails, among others, the completion of the unfinished sections of the freeways – these are the connections to and from Helen Suzman Boulevard; and the connections to and from the N1 and the N2 freeways.</p><p>Furthermore, the proposed development will provide residential units to a diverse cross-section of income groups, inclusive of affordable housing opportunities. This means we will, for the first time in a democratic South Africa, see development on prime land which will cater for all income groups in the heart of the Cape Town CBD.</p><p>This is indeed a historical moment, and the first building block of a more inclusive inner city. </p><p>Reversing the legacy of apartheid spatial planning is a key-priority of this government. This means that everything we do in the housing realm should be aimed at providing affordable housing opportunities that are located on land with easy access to public transport and jobs.</p><p>The Foreshore Freeway Precinct is a prime example of such a location, and I am excited to see these opportunities come to fruition.</p><p>Once developed, the precinct will reshape how we live, move, interact, and work in this area. It will also have a significant impact on how we enter and exit the CBD.</p><p>This is a bold and innovative step by the City to find a sustainable and long-term solution to a number of challenges we are currently facing.</p><p>Going forward, we envisage working together with the private sector to provide us with further imaginative and creative proposals and development solutions that will be to the benefit of all of us living in Cape Town.</p><p>I am proud and excited to be part of this endeavour.</p><p>
<strong>End</strong></p> | 2018-02-11T22:00:00Z | GP0|#904f8ac3-ad18-4896-a9a8-86feb1d4a1b7;L0|#0904f8ac3-ad18-4896-a9a8-86feb1d4a1b7|Statements;GTSet|#62efe227-07aa-45e7-944c-ceebacca891d;GP0|#1d539e44-7c8c-4646-887d-386dc1d95d70;L0|#01d539e44-7c8c-4646-887d-386dc1d95d70|City news | | | | | GP0|#d819d47d-30a6-49d7-90cc-603d233e6254;L0|#0d819d47d-30a6-49d7-90cc-603d233e6254|transport and urban development;GTSet|#2e3de6c1-9951-4747-8f53-470629a399bb;GP0|#d5e24fdf-fa32-4fe2-bb55-af7d2f43d90e;L0|#0d5e24fdf-fa32-4fe2-bb55-af7d2f43d90e|foreshore freeway precinct;GP0|#0cc64021-06fc-4a06-88c5-355b36542169;L0|#00cc64021-06fc-4a06-88c5-355b36542169|Inclusive City | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | |
