An Aurecon-led consortium was the winner in the Private Sector category at the South African Planning Institute’s (SAPI) prestigious Planning Awards event on 5 July.

Recognising the successful completion of the Ekurhuleni OR Tambo Aerotropolis Master Plan – a first for Africa – the award was a fitting milestone in the many projects that Aurecon has worked on for Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality during the course of a 20-year relationship.

In today’s world, major airports are no longer merely transport terminals but are increasingly integrated with the surrounding community in an aerotropolis scheme to become major drivers of urban form, economic activity and city competitiveness. The Ekurhuleni Aerotropolis project seeks to take advantage of all the economic opportunities OR Tambo International Airport offers.

Blending front-ranking local and international planning expertise, the award-winning consortium comprised Aurecon, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), MXD, RTKL and Turner & Townsend. Aurecon collaborated closely with the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, which achieved the award in the Public Sector category, reflecting the Municipality’s pioneering initiative and effective involvement in the Aerotropolis project.

Appointed in September 2013, the consortium was responsible for the project’s master planning that encompasses an area of more than 1 600 km², and sets out a detailed path for the Ekurhuleni Aerotropolis to become a multifaceted development and a powerful engine of local economic development and job creation.

In addition, the consortium’s integrated prioritisation approach has had a tremendously positive impact on otherwise unrelated interests within Ekurhuleni. The land use component of the Master Plan has already spurred new community investment and development initiatives.

“Developing the Master Plan was an immensely challenging process, particularly with regard to its complexity in collaborating with and securing the buy-in of a myriad stakeholders and competing interests,” says Dr Stephan Jooste, Aurecon Management & Advisory Unit Manager.

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, one of eight metropolitan municipalities in South Africa, covers an extensive geographic area from Germiston in the west to Springs and Nigel in the east. Historically nine towns, it is home to more than 3 000 000 residents and is one of the most densely populated areas in the country. The municipality also embraces large impoverished townships.

Successfully delivered in June 2015, the Aerotropolis Master Plan profoundly changes and positively enhances the way Ekurhuleni, and also Gauteng province, face the realities of future economic growth and positions them within the global economy. It establishes the right steps for capturing opportunities in the Municipality’s ambition to be the ‘Hub of Africa’.

The SAPI Planning Awards were initiated in 2008 and are intended to recognise the valuable contributions and extraordinary performance of planning consultants and consultancies. “Aurecon, together with the other members of the consortium, is proud to have been acknowledged by SAPI and the South African planning fraternity as a whole,” ends Jooste.