Today, the Provincial Minister of Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers was joined by City of Cape Town (CoCT) Mayco Member Malusi Booi, to officiate the ceremonial sod turning of the Killarney Gardens Mixed-Use Development.
The Killarney Gardens mixed-use development will be a Transitional Residential Area, aimed at alleviating the congested critical spaces of the greater Dunoon area.
1500 households will be relocated to the development, some of whom currently unsafely occupy the Atlantis Railway Reserve. This is part of a multi-phased integrated implementation approach, aimed at ensuring that residents are accommodated in a safe, properly-serviced human settlement.
This will allow for the widening of some road infrastructure in the informal settlements, which in turn will create easier access for emergency service vehicles. The relocation of the residents on the railway track is aimed at the resumption of the essential rail services to Atlantis and Visserhok.
The project is a partnership between the City of Cape Town (CoCT), the Housing Development Agency (HDA) and the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements (WCDoHS).
“We are pleased to have attended the sod turning today and to see this project progress. The project will improve the lives of our Dunoon residents and the conditions in which they live. We are pleased to partner with the Western Cape Government on this project. We have established strong partnership and we look forward to continue along this path of collaboration,” said the City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi.
The development will have residential units in 3- and 4-storey blocks, with self-contained kitchen and ablution facilities, shared drying yards and commercial and community facilities.
There will be economic and job opportunities created in the upcoming construction phases, for the local community and Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME’s). It is envisaged that development will be completed by June 2024.
Minister Simmers said: “I’m delighted with the progress of this development, taking into consideration the multiple challenges we’ve endured to get to this point. It is therefore befitting that in the month when we commemorate Mandela Day, we reach this milestone of sod turning. Through this project we will look to relocate the residents to safer and improved living conditions. In so doing we will also allow for the resumption of the economic activity on the Atlantis Railway Reserve. The improvement of road infrastructure will allow for safer public commute, as there will be efficient street lighting and freedom of movement. More importantly the access for emergency services will assist in preventing unfortunate catastrophic fire disasters as witnessed previously in other parts of our City and Province”.
