The first phase of a new A$1b smart city project in South Africa has been opened in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Called Westown, the project is South Africa’s biggest smart city project and follows several unsuccessful attempts to build smaller technology hubs incorporating smart city features.
When complete in 10 to 15 years, the city is expected to have a population of 500,000.
The mall development at the heart of the city, Westown Square, was opened in late March and will be surrounded by a 2000 hectare mixed use development comprising a hospital, schools, a retirement village and houses and apartments.
Themba Masimula, senior project manager from the eThekwini Municipality’s Catalytic Projects Unit said the project aimed to “change the development trajectory of the West, from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.”
“The interest was always to build a mixed-use development that’s going to incorporate the live, work, play, kind of situation,” he said.
The development aims to create a new economic hub to catalyse investment, stimulate job creation and attract services closer to where people live.
The city has been designed to adhere to principles of sustainability, and will include walking and biking trails and incorporates renewable energy, including solar generated power.
Masimula explained that the city will incorporate smart technology and sensors into the city’s maintenance and operations. “For example, if there are electricity faults, if there are water leaks, the system will be centralised. It will pick up on those and the maintenance of those will be quicker than it is currently,” he said.
He said it will also incorporate technology into security and law enforcement to enable timely responses.
Fundamentum Property Group CEO Carlos Correia said Westown is the single largest infrastructure investment by the eThekwini Municipality since the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
Infrastructure upgrades in the area include two new bridges and a complete make-over of an existing two lane road, which has been widened into four lanes.
In its first phase Westown created over 20,000 new jobs.
