Housing in Southern Africa April 2016

News

R42million Valhalla Park project

T he R42 million Valhalla Park Housing Project signals the City of Cape Town’s commitment to this development despite land inva- sion attempts, which have stalled the progress of this project. Construc- tion of the Valhalla Park Housing Development seeks to empower the city’s most vulnerable families with 777 fully subsidised homes and will commence shortly. The design and development pro- cess is being done in accordance with approved National Human Settle- ments Development and Engineering Standards by a professional project team, which comprises all relevant professional disciplines. All theneces- sary funding and planning approvals are in place. The contract for construction of the civil engineering services was recently awarded to Shar Civils cc. The scope of work for this contract includes the construction of inter- nal services for 777 sites and the

us in our efforts,” says van Minnen. Beneficiaries will be allocated from Valhalla Park as well as from other areas, in accordance with the Housing Allocation Policy. ■

upgrading of existing services. The contract will employ local labour and sub-contractors. A democrati- cally representative Project Steering Committee (PSC) is in place and consultants and City officials oversee the project to ensure effective imple- mentation. The committee’s role is to serve as the link between the project manager and the local community. It will consist of four sub councils, five chairpersons, ward councillors and elected community representatives and city officials. “It is the start of a new life for our beneficiaries and bringing dreams to fruition as they become property owners, which can un- lock economic opportunities,” says Benedicta vanMinnen, Mayoral Com- mittee Member for Human Settle- ments. “With construction commenc- ing soon, we are very excited to be contributing towards building better lives for vulnerable residents and we encourage communities to support

Left to right: Duke Gumede, Benedicta van Minnen and Herman Steyn.