Johannesburg - Shanghai Zendai Property Ltd. plans to transform a Johannesburg suburb into the “New York of Africa” with an 80 billion rand ($7.8 billion) investment over the next 15 years, Chairman Dai Zhikang said.
The company, based in Hong Kong, will build a financial hub, as many as 35,000 houses, an educational centre and a sport stadium in the 1,600 hectares (3,950 acres) of land it purchased from AECI Ltd. in Modderfontein, eastern Johannesburg.
The area, currently used for manufacturing, is about 15 kilometres (9 miles) east of Sandton, the city’s main financial centre, and the same distance west of OR Tambo International Airport, Africa’s biggest airport.
“It will become the future capital of the whole of Africa,” Dai said at a press conference today, speaking through a translator.
“This will be on par with cities like New York in America or Hong Kong in the Far East.”
The development, which is yet to be named, will become a hub for Chinese firms investing in sub-Saharan Africa, Dai said.
While Johannesburg already offers a base for companies investing in Africa, the city hasn’t got enough space to cater for the growing demand for offices and homes, he said.
The Chinese developer paid AECI 1.06 billion rand for the land, it said in a statement yesterday.
The area is home to an explosives factory that opened in 1896 to support the gold-mining industry.
It includes a wetlands area that will be protected, and could be the equivalent of Central Park in New York, Dai said.
Shanghai Zendai will invest its own money in the project and work with other developers, Zhikang said.
Once complete, the city will provide jobs for 100,000 people and house about 100,000 more.
“Those cities we just mentioned they were there for 100 years,” Dai said.
“We’re talking about the next 100 years.” - Bloomberg News