PRETORIA - The Department of Public Works has announced a public-private partnership for the redevelopment of the Telkom Towers precinct in Pretoria at a cost between R1.8 billion and R2.2 billion.
Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson announced plans to overhaul Pretoria’s vacant Telkom Towers precinct, a site that currently costs taxpayers R6.8 million a month in empty maintenance.
Initially bought to house the police before descending into an abandoned ghost complex, the government is now planning a massive multi-billion-rand revamp mission. The public-private partnership will allow government to stop paying expensive private leases and will generate income for the state.
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According to Macpherson, redevelopments are expected to involve refurbishment of all nine buildings in the precinct.
Once completed, the department will have 160 000 square meters of gross leasable area that can be used to maximize state revenue, either by existing clients or new ones, he added.
“This will be an immense opportunity to bring back our client departments from costly private leases into quality state infrastructure, while also giving us as Public Works and Infrastructure the means to supply accommodation to the private sector", Macpherson said.
The minister said the redevelopment is also expected to have a wider economic impact on the capital.
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According to Macpherson, projects will create thousands of construction jobs while bringing government departments back into the Pretoria CBD and reducing reliance on private leases.
“When looking at our CGO building, this results in a project cost of R560 million that will refurbish 41 700 square meters of gross leasable area and create approximately 600 jobs in construction.
“When we combine these figures with the Telkom Towers base project, we see an extraordinary impact on the Pretoria CBD,” he said.
Macpherson has vowed to ensure that the department will actively play its role in driving inner-city rejuvenation and ensuring that government departments return to the center of Pretoria and are located in government buildings.
“This will ensure that we cut down on costly private leases and return that money to departments to be used for service delivery. The Department of Public Works will, as a result of the strategic steps we are taking today in the redevelopment project, be able to create a total of 12 700 jobs in construction and unlock a total of 212 000 square meters of gross leasable area for us to use to generate income for the state and to cut down on costly leases,” he added.