Hong Kong-listed Shanghai Zendai – the group that plans to develop its expansive Modderfontein-based property into a 22 km2 mixed-use ‘city’ – has held a series of public consultations to brief the public on its plans for the proposed development, spelling out the development’s guiding principles and outlining its likely environmental, social and economic impacts.

Shanghai Zendai subsidiary Zendai Development South Africa (ZDSA) last year outlined ambitious plans for the development of an R84-billion ‘city’ offering mixed land use on the sprawling property the company bought from South African explosives and chemicals company AECI in 2013 for R1-billion.

The group said in a statement this week that attendees, which included representatives from the Gauteng Premier’s office, City of Johannesburg officials, local businesses owners and community members, were taken through the development’s master plan and guiding principles, as well as details of the framework, project scope and a preliminary roll-out schedule.

Attendees were also afforded the opportunity to meet with representatives of the project’s appointed technical consultancy firms Atkins Global and Arup.

Atkins’s scope included the strategic and operational framework for the development, including land-uses, sustainability practices, spatial planning and design, while Arup’s scope covered services and infrastructure master planning, as well as traffic impact assessments.

“These sessions have encouraged a dialogue with the community, whose suggestions and concerns are the bedrock of the development framework.”

“Market conditions will, ultimately, determine the release of land and [the] related development pace . . . [and] the town will be developed as a vast system of interconnected parks, open spaces and rapid rail transport, around which the thriving city will grow. Public comments will be used to refine the master plan,” commented Atkins project technical lead Margot Orr.

Noting that the master plan would guide the development of the project and set the principles on which the development was premised, ZDSA said it would also allocate and identify areas for protection – such as nature reserves and historic buildings – as well as guide development precincts, providing an indication of the proposed density of development and the types of land uses.

“The envisioned development’s footprint includes various functional zones within the precincts and seeks to encourage a mixed-use approach to achieve the ultimate work, live, play solution that caters for residential, commercial, logistics and industry,” the developer noted.

As part of the master plan, ZDSA and Arup had assessed the impact of development on demand for transport and had already started to establish mitigation measures to lessen the localised impact and enhance transport links with surrounding road networks.

These include the completion of the 1.7 km Marlboro drive extension; the completion of 2.4 km of roads linking to the London road offramp; the start of a section of the proposed K113, which would ultimately link Edenvale to Marlboro drive; and the current 2 km extension to Centenary road to link through to Longmeadow Business Estate and, ultimately, the N3.

Several crossings under and over the Gautrain line had also been designed for future links through the site.

“The traffic impact study also takes into account future public transport facilities, such as the Gautrain and related facilities, connecting to the proposed municipal bus rapid transport system and accommodating pedestrians and cyclists within development precincts,” ZDSA noted.

The group added that detailed environmental-impact assessments would be carried out for specific developments as planning applications were submitted, while current environmental planning sought to proactively identify environmental assets and ascertain significant negative impacts on the environment.

“This does not mean that potential environmental impacts will not be assessed in the future, as detailed studies will be undertaken at the next stage of the planning process,” it held.

To this end, ZDSA planned to forge “working partnerships” with the City of Johannesburg’s Department of Environmental Affairs, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and various key departments within these local and provincial authorities.

Key issues of concern raised by community members during the July consultations included traffic congestion, environmental impact and the status of the Modderfontein Reserve.

It was explained that the reserve formed a focal point in the development and was “integral” to the future of the development.
 
Several local business owners also attended the public information sessions to identify possible opportunities afforded by the project.