Cyril Ramaphosa’s new smart city in Johannesburg remains only shacks and bushes

President Cyril Ramaphosa promoted the new Lanseria Smart City in his 2020 State of the Nation Address. Today, it is nothing more than bushes and shacks.

In his 2020 speech, Ramaphosa said the smart city would be a truly post-apartheid city capable of accommodating 350,000 to 500,000 people by 2030.

“A new smart city is taking shape in Lanseria, which 350,000 to 500,000 people will call home within the next decade,” the president said.

“It will not only be smart and 5G-ready but will be a leading benchmark for green infrastructure continentally and internationally.”

While Ramaphosa first mentioned it in 2020, the Lanseria Smart City dates back to 2007, when it was still known as Cradle City.

Cradle City was set to be the first South African city built around an airport, which has been achieved successfully overseas.

In 2008, the Cradle City website stated that it was one of the most ambitious property developments in South Africa.

The developers said the new Cradle City will be conveniently located with excellent infrastructural and transport links.

“This mega project involves the development of a city which will offer its inhabitants the luxuries of time, security, and sustainability through well-planned execution,” it said.

Crosspoint and the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements planned to implement the Lanseria Airport City Mega Project over ten years.

Crosspoint has also partnered with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to develop the 90-hectare Lanseria Business District as part of the project.

The draft master plan for the Greater Lanseria Growth Node was released for public comment in November 2020.

It highlighted that the new smart city is a joint initiative of the Presidency, the Office of the Gauteng Premier, the City of Tshwane, the City of Johannesburg, and Mogale City.

The Lanseria Smart City plan

The Lanseria Smart City aims to create the first post-apartheid city in South Africa based on best practices in urban sustainability.

“It is to be inclusive of the broadly defined South African socio-economic spectrum and must stimulate a vibrant, mixed urban economy,” the masterplan states.

The city would be built surrounding Lanseria International Airport, north of Johannesburg, in a project which would take around 25 years to complete.

Sitting in the centre of the development, the airport will be the main economic driver for the city’s growth.

There is a strong focus on limiting the need to commute by car. It wants the city’s residents to use walking, cycling, and public transport.

In planning terms, people must be able to walk to work, shopping malls, or schools within 5 minutes to 10 minutes.

The plan is to make the lateral extent of an activity zone within this new city roughly 1600 meters, a 10-minute walk in any direction from its epicentre.

If a service is not available within one activity zone, safe, reliable, and affordable public transport should be available to access it further afield.

The planning also heavily focuses on smart technologies, including the latest mobile technologies, Wi-Fi, and high-speed broadband connectivity.

“The city will be built on smart technology and systems in a way that is helpful to all residents, companies, businesses, and visitors,” the city said.

The Lanseria Business Gateway will be located on 130 hectares of prime real estate between Lanseria Airport and the upmarket Blair Atholl Golf Estate.

It will be a 24-hour smart city zone offering retail, conference, and business facilities. It will also host the Lanseria luxury hotel.

To make Lanseria Smart City safe for residents and workers, the streets, sidewalks, marketplaces, and parks will be well-policed and well-lit at night.

The city’s public areas are designed for street life and social interaction, and the design of the buildings facing them will encourage this.

Big plans, but little progress

In June 2026, Newsday visited the site on which the Lanseria Smart City is set to be developed. It found that there was not much happening.

Most of the areas around the Lanseria International Airport, where these should be apartments, houses, and office blocks, are only open veld.

There are no signs of the construction which was promised when the Lanseria Smart City was promoted to the public.

The only settlement near Lanseria International Airport was an informal settlement with makeshift shacks.

Instead of modern, high-rise buildings, beautiful parks, and high-end public transportation, there were only dirt roads and a makeshift taxi rank.

The only real development in the area was the R320 million water treatment plant, which started construction in October 2024.

This development promises to produce two megalitres daily using advanced membrane-aerated biofilm reactor technology.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi hailed the project as essential to fulfilling President Cyril Ramaphosa’s vision of a modern smart city.

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Lanseria Smart City: What was promised

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Lanseria Smart City: What it is today

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