Signing ceremony for City of Cape Town and PRASA

PRASA COMMITS TO MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS AROUND RAILWAY STATIONS IN CAPE TOWN, SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH MAYOR DAN PLATO

Cape Town, 2 December 2009 - The 17th of November 2009 was a historic day for PRASA and the City of Cape Town, when the Executive Mayor of Cape Town Dan Plato and PRASA Group CEO Lucky Montana, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), under which the City and PRASA will maximise the development opportunities on the land they own around railway stations and along railway lines.
Prasa GCEO Tshepo Lucky Montana, Premier of Western Cape Helen Zille and Executive Mayor of Cape Town Dan Plato at the signing of the MOU between PRASA and the City of Cape Town


The Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille, attended the signing ceremony, as well as Cromet Molepo, CEO of Intersite, Stephen Ngobeni, Cape Town Metrorail Regional Manager and Piet van Zyl, Executive Director for Strategy and Planning at the City of Cape Town.


The MOU will open the way for the construction of high density housing on land within Cape Town owned jointly by PRASA and the City, committing both parties to further developing areas around stations by encouraging a range of different social and economic activities in these environments. Such mixed-use areas have the potential to create unique environments for promoting community access to socio-economic opportunities within rail corridors, and will also support a range of densified housing developments to solve the housing challenge in Cape Town.



“This MOU supports our Regional Rail Plan and the City’s Integrated Transport Plan (ITP) that envisages a closer working relationship between PRASA and the City to ensure that Cape Town’s proposed urban growth corridors are supported by rail-based public transport where this exists. It will also ensure that where there are opportunities for new passenger rail services, PRASA will align its services according to the development of these corridors. I am encouraged by the commitment to public transport demonstrated by the City and we hope to enter into similar agreements with other Metropolitan authorities around the country,” said Montana.


PRASA and the City will identify strategic landholdings to advance the MOU’s aims. The parties will then determine the best use of the landholdings and develop these in line with Government’s socio-economic aims and in accordance with statutory planning and development processes.


PRASA and the City have agreed on a plan and joint committee to implement the aims of this MOU, including the prioritisation of the development of a maximum of three key stations. This will allow the parties to align their planning, including in the City’s north-eastern growth corridor.


Please direct all media enquiries to Sibusiso Ngomane, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager, Metrorail; +27 82 557 2499