The City of Cape Town has secured an additional R3.5 billion in financing to support its record-setting infrastructure investment plan over the next three years.
Cape Town is set to invest R39.5 billion in infrastructure from July 2024 to June 2027, as outlined in its 'Building For Jobs' Budget.
This marks the largest three-year infrastructure investment ever made by a metropolitan municipality in South Africa.
According to Nedbank's updated Capital Expenditure Project Listing for 2023, published in February 2024, Cape Town accounted for 60% of the R100 billion in government infrastructure projects announced nationally in 2023.
'We are pleased to secure further finance towards our ambitious infrastructure investment agenda, which we estimate will create 130 000 construction-related jobs alone over three years. Lower-income households will also directly benefit from 75% - or R9 billion - of Cape Town's R12 billion infrastructure spend in 2024/25," said mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis
He said that the pro-poor infrastructure spend in 2024/25 is bigger than the entire infrastructure budget of any other metro.
"Cape Town will soon be SA's most populous city, and we are preparing for this by targeting our fastest growing, and poorest areas, with infrastructure projects that will, over time, unstitch the unjust legacy of our country's past," said the mayor.
The City's 10-year pipeline is valued at an estimated R120 billion. The majority of the projects are classified as 'Economic, Social, and Governance (ESG)' and are linked to the City's overall Climate Change Strategy.
In October 2023, the City published a request for funding proposals (RFP) for the financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, followed by extensive engagements with local and international lenders.
Alongside the Nedbank finance approval in June 2024, the City Council also approved $150 million in financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and, in April 2023, sanctioned €100 million in developmental financing from the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD).
The City is adopting a blended finance model, utilising funds from its own healthy balance sheet as well as finance from local and international markets.
Additional financing agreements are expected to come before the Council during the 2024/25 financial year to meet the remaining funding requirements for the City's infrastructure plans.
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