A new start for the CBD
The construction of the new municipal headquarters on the site of the old Munitoria building, is the start of the regeneration of the Pretoria CBD and will be done at a cost of almost R2 billion, which includes not only the construction, but also the delivery of services for a 25 year period by a private partner.
In a symbolic gesture that buried the past and marked the future of the capital city, Tshwane mayor Kgsosientso Ramokgopa on Friday morning signed contract that will see the construction of the R2 billion Tshwane House – the new municipal headquarters for the metro.
The construction of the building, that replaces the old Munitoria, is the first of several major changes planned by the Tshwane metro for the regeneration of the inner city. After partly burning down the old Munitoria was imploded in July 2013.
The core objective for remaking South Africa’s capital city is about how the metro forges a new identity. To realize this objective, it requires mobilisation of other spheres of government, residents, civil society, and the private sector in order to concretise the process that will lead to a shared development of South Africa’s capital city as envisioned in the Tshwane Vision 2055.
Ramokgopa signed the public-private partnership (PPP) with executives of Tsela Tshweu Consortium which is tasked with, among others, the construction of Tshwane House.
Addressing guest, stakeholders and councilors in a marque erected on the old Munitioria site – where building has already started – Ramokgopa emphasized that the remaking of the capital city was about intervening decisively in the creation of a modern urban fabric premised on the principles of achieving spatial justice, spatial sustainability, spatial resilience, spatial quality and spatial efficiency.
The new Tshwane House municipal headquarters complex project is both a new building project and a CBD regeneration project that will not only achieve massive cost-effectiveness and productivity goals for the city’s service delivery management, but also generate economic redevelopment outcomes for the CBD in particular, but also for the whole city in general, he said.
“The city is proudly making history as it celebrates the national capital and repositioning the inner city as a vibrant cultural and government centre,” the mayor said.
“We are open for business and we demonstrate this on a daily basis through our support for new development nodes, our investment in strategic infrastructure and our ongoing effort to improving government processes.”
Ramokgopa said the metro would continue working with the private sector in its endeavor to transform the city and move the country forward.
The agreement signed on Friday is for the provision of serviced head office accommodation to the staff of the Tshwane metropolitan municipality for a period of 25 years (excluding a construction period of 24 months). The scope of the project entails the demolition of the old “inferior” Munitoria buildings, a complete new design, construction, financing and other defined services, including operations and facilities management for a period of 25 years for the provision of serviced accommodation to 1 590 municipal staff of the inner city.
The mechanism to deliver the project proposed the appointment of a suitably qualified private party who, through the use of a PPP agreement, will contract with the city of Tshwane to provide serviced head office accommodation including demolition, design, construction, refurbishment, relocation services, facilities management (hard and soft services), and financing and Life Cycle CAPEX Management.
The project is on track for completion in late 2017 and will accommodate 1 590 staff members – many currently scattered throughout the city in separate buildings since the fire at Munitoria.
The building includes Grade A office accommodation covering 75 520 square metres, up to 1 300 parking bays over two levels, a 250-seater standalone council chamber with associated meeting rooms and communication booths, social facilities including a restaurant and support facilities including archive, storage and printing facilities.
The mayor said the modern, forward-looking municipal centre would bring local government closer to its people.
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