The South African Planning Institute (SAPI) has recognised an Aurecon-led consortium for its completion of the Ekurhuleni OR Tambo Aerotropolis Master Plan, declaring it the winner of the Private Sector category of the institute’s Planning Awards.

The consortium, comprising Aurecon, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, MXD, RTKL and Turner & Townsend, was responsible for the master plan for Ekhuruleni’s aerotropolis, which encompasses an area of more than 1 600 km².

The master plan set out a detailed path to create a multifaceted development that would be a powerful engine of local economic development and job creation.

In addition, the consortium’s integrated prioritisation approach has had a positive impact on otherwise unrelated interests in Ekurhuleni.

The land use component of the master plan had already spurred new community investment and development initiatives.

“Developing the master plan was an immensely challenging process, particularly with regard to its complexity in collaborating with and securing the buy-in of a myriad [of] stakeholders and competing interests,” Aurecon management and advisory unit manager Dr Stephan Jooste said in a statement.

The Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality, one of eight metropolitan municipalities in South Africa, covers an extensive geographic area from Germiston in the west to Springs and Nigel in the east.

Historically nine towns, it is home to more than three-million residents and is one of the most densely populated areas in the country. The municipality also embraces large impoverished townships.

Successfully delivered in June 2015, the Aerotropolis Master Plan is aimed at changing and positively enhancing the way Ekurhuleni and the broader Gauteng province face the realities of future economic growth and position themselves within the global economy.