Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has unveiled a vision to transform the Foreshore's unfinished highways into a new link bridge, tunnel, promenade, and mixed-use neighborhood. The Foreshore Precinct Project proposes a new link bridge, an underground tunnel, parks, a harbor-side promenade, affordable housing, and a new neighborhood on about 15 hectares around the unfinished freeways. The project aims to address congestion in the area and provide better connections across Cape Town.
The proposal has triggered a political backlash over its cost, funding, and housing plans. GOOD secretary-general and Cape Town mayoral candidate Brett Herron said the project was financially unrealistic. He accused Hill-Lewis of presenting "a fantasy as a plan" and stated that the possibility of the city ratepayers funding the completion of the Foreshore Freeways was always regarded as impossibly unaffordable by engineers and finance professionals.
Herron cited significant engineering risks, including soil instability and subterranean water, associated with tunnelling beneath reclaimed land. He also referenced international infrastructure projects, such as Boston's major tunnel development, as examples of potential cost overruns. According to Herron, it is highly unlikely that the project would be fundable, and the risks of expenditure overruns are very real.
The City of Cape Town said the proposal remained at the conceptual stage and that funding arrangements would be developed as planning progressed. Spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo stated that the question of funding would be addressed as the project progresses from vision to implementation. The City is exploring innovative funding models to ensure the project's sustainability.
Access to port-controlled land is another unresolved issue, with the Transnet National Ports Authority being a key stakeholder. Discussions are continuing, and the City has not provided details on how many affordable homes would be built. However, affordable housing will form part of the proposed second phase. Herron emphasized that any use of public land should include a significant affordable-housing component.
Gareth Ramsay, founder and lead project engineer of Capetrain Express, welcomed the proposal as a "generational investment" in the lower CBD. He said the development could support transit-oriented development, improve mobility, and create better connections across Cape Town. Ramsay also welcomed the possibility of preserving space for a future railway line.
If approved, construction could begin before the end of the next council term and continue for more than 15 years. Public participation is expected as planning progresses. The project involves widening the inbound freeway, connecting it to Helen Suzman Boulevard by a new bridge, and building an outbound tunnel near Duncan Road connecting to the N1 and N2.
Key points
- The Foreshore Precinct Project aims to transform the unfinished highways into a new link bridge, tunnel, promenade, and mixed-use neighborhood.
- The proposal has sparked a backlash over its cost, funding, and housing plans, with some critics calling it financially unrealistic.
- The project's funding arrangements and access to port-controlled land remain unresolved.
