The City of Johannesburg will spend over R100-billion on economic and social infrastructure over the next ten years, City of Johannesburg executive mayor Parks Tau said on Thursday.

To enable Johannesburg to facilitate local economic activity and create an enabling environment for growth, the city would focus on, besides others, the upgrading of water reticulation systems, stormwater systems, electricity substations, the road infrastructure network and waste treatment plants.

Speaking at his first State of the City address, Tau said that Johannesburg accounted for 16% of the country’s gross domestic product and that trade, manufacturing, construction, transport and tourism would be significant drivers for growth. He also pointed out that many large corporations, financial institutions, law firms and many other organisations based their headquarters in the city centre.

The growth in population would also drive the need for urgent socioeconomic infrastructure development. Tau noted that Johannesburg currently had a population of about 3.8-million and, by 2015, it was expected to reach 4.1-million. In 2040, it was forecast to have a population of 8-million.

In line with this, infrastructure development should not only support the increased population, but also contribute to sustainable job creation and skills development, he added.

The infrastructure development and refurbishment would be done in collaboration with the private sector and key stakeholders. The city would also reprioritise its expenditure to ensure revenue maximisation. Tau encouraged public–private partnerships for future projects.

Meanwhile, in the short term the city aimed to implement measures to ensure the efficient use of energy and a shift to a diversification of sources. This in turn would contribute to the city’s revenue optimisation, greater service delivery and reduced carbon emissions.

Further, demand-side management measures and smart metering would be rolled out across Johannesburg in the medium term. The city would also be retrofitting all its building with energy saving measures.

Tau also pointed to the development of enhanced and cost-effective service delivery, which was to be achieved through reduced fragmentation, the elimination of duplication, improved accountability, increased focus on human resource development and the provision of incentives for performance.

He said the city was developing a comprehensive and integrated approach to service delivery, noting that while progress has been made, there were still some concerns about ongoing challenges affecting service delivery, particularly billing and customer services.