News · eGov
Six years after President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to build a world-class smart city at Lanseria in Gauteng for up to 500,000 residents, the site remains dominated by informal settlements and open land.
✦ AI SUMMARY 30-second read
- Ramaphosa announced the Lanseria Smart City in his 2020 State of the Nation Address, describing it as a post-apartheid, 5G-ready urban centre.
- Site visits between January 2023 and January 2026 found minimal construction activity, with an incomplete fence among the most visible signs of progress.
- A R320 million water treatment plant, funded through international financing and designed to produce two million litres daily, broke ground in October 2024.
Why it matters: The slow pace of Lanseria's development tests the government's capacity to deliver technology-driven urban infrastructure at scale.
This summary was generated by AI. Editors may review and update it.
What was billed as a transformative post-apartheid urban project has made little visible headway since President Cyril Ramaphosa first unveiled it. The Lanseria Smart City, situated in Gauteng, was promised as a modern, technology-driven centre capable of housing between 350,000 and 500,000 people within a decade of its announcement.
A recent assessment of the proposed site found informal settlements and large stretches of open land still present, with scant evidence of large-scale construction. The development involves several government institutions, including Infrastructure South Africa, the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, the City of Johannesburg and Mogale City.
What was announced
During his 2020 State of the Nation Address, Ramaphosa described Lanseria as a city that would be smart and 5G-ready, setting a continental and international benchmark for green infrastructure. He said a new smart city was already taking shape, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to call it home within the following decade.
More recently, the president told Parliament that the government was pursuing technology-driven urban planning to tackle urbanisation, infrastructure challenges and climate change, citing the use of the Internet of Things, data centres and artificial intelligence in creating efficient and sustainable urban environments.
Progress on the ground
Site visits conducted between January 2023 and January 2026 revealed minimal construction activity. The most visible work was an incomplete fence along Ashenti Road, while informal settlements continued to occupy portions of the planned development area.
Solar-powered streetlights were installed along Pelindaba and Ashenti roads by April 2026, but these formed part of a separate City Power project and were not directly linked to the smart city initiative.
The Gauteng Growth and Development Agency acknowledged the presence of informal settlements, stating that the matter was being addressed through intergovernmental processes guided by applicable legislation, policy frameworks and due process, with an emphasis on human dignity and social sustainability.
Background and infrastructure steps
The Lanseria project has roots going back to 2007, when it was known as Cradle City. Land occupation challenges and infrastructure constraints have been cited as factors slowing its progress.
A R320 million water treatment plant broke ground in October 2024. Funded through international financing, the plant is designed to produce two million litres of water daily and address critical water and sanitation needs in the area. Despite this, the broader vision of a fully realised smart city is widely regarded as a distant prospect.
What happens next
The gap between the government's stated ambitions and what has been delivered on the ground has drawn scrutiny over its ability to convert large-scale urban development commitments into tangible infrastructure and housing. Multiple government institutions remain involved in taking the project forward.
Elets will continue to follow developments at the Lanseria Smart City as the project progresses.