Skip to main content

South Africa to develop new city

Hong Kong- listed property development Group Shanghai Zendai is to construct a US$7.66 billion new Modderfontein City in South Africa beginning in 2015. The project includes construction of a university, schools and a contemporary African gallery. Development of infrastructure, among them a Gautrain station planned for the next four to five years, is part of construction works awarded about US$273 million. The new city comes about as a result of the need for access to information technology (IT) and inte
September 15, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Hong Kong- listed property development Group Shanghai Zendai is to construct a US$7.66 billion new Modderfontein City in South Africa beginning in 2015. The project includes construction of a university, schools and a contemporary African gallery. Development of infrastructure, among them a Gautrain station planned for the next four to five years, is part of construction works awarded about US$273 million.

The new city comes about as a result of the need for access to information technology (IT) and integrated public transport systems. The CEO of Zendai Development South Africa, Anthony Diepenbroek, noted that this would be ‘the South African city of the future’.

Diepenbroek also said that access to IT and cost effective public transport would see Modderfontein develop into an urban centre, which is seen as a sustainable ‘smart city’ with cost-effective IT systems and an integrated public transport infrastructure.

“Our vision that the new city will become a unique landmark that will transform Modderfontein into an international cosmopolitan asset with a cultural and art element,” said Dai Zhikang, the founder of Shanghai Zendai Investments.

Related Content

  • European bus system of the future: paving the way for a bus revolution
    October 16, 2012
    The results of the US$33.8 million (€26 million) European Bus System of the Future (EBSF) project have been announced following four years of intensive research and high-profile work. The project, which started in the midst of the financial crisis in 2008 and achieved several key results, aimed to develop a new generation of urban bus systems adapted to the needs of European cities as well as improving the perception of bus transport. By defining the bus system as a whole, rather than looking just at the v
  • Keeping cool in LA
    November 11, 2022
    As the earth’s temperatures rise, cities are set to become hotter. A project in Los Angeles may point the way to keeping cool while improving access to transit services in an uncertain future
  • When caring about sharing is good business for US automakers
    October 28, 2015
    Although car-sharing and ride-sharing could drastically reduce car sales, David Crawford finds some US automakers are keen to participate in the sharing economy. Growing consumer interest in car- and ride-sharing, as opposed to outright ownership, and ride-sharer Uber’s recently stated intention to make its brand competitive with ownership on cost, are making the major US automotive manufacturers think seriously about their future sales prospects. Some have already begun exploring ways of entering the field
  • Anywhere card delivers prepaid contactless ticketing
    January 25, 2012
    David Crawford investigates a far reaching initiative in integrated travel. The Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO), an operator of high speed commuter rail in the north eastern US, is not one of the world's best known transit providers. Its 13 stations along a single east-west route (three of them interchanges with other regional commuter lines) handle 40,000 passengers a day, travelling to and from Philadelphia, the US' fifth most populous city.