Also read the following related articles:

• Africa's tallest for Centurion

• Gautrain ring plan for Pretoria

Tshwane, one of the largest metropolitan areas in SA, is opening a new chapter by developing the municipality into a first-class destination for visitors, investors and residents with a long ranging development vision.

Tshwane will soon compete with Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban by building its own international convention centre in Centurion and is also planning to build a government boulevard to house government departments in the central business district (CBD).

By building the convention centre, the city wants to attract the lucrative conference market in the city, which is home to 132 embassies and four universities. By investing in infrastructure, the city aims to attract more businesses, and prevent government departments from moving into other areas such as Lynnwood and Hatfield.

In an interview on Friday, mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa said previously the vision of the city was short term and not long ranging.

He has identified a number of multimillion rand capital projects, including the rehabilitation of Centurion Lake as part of a larger Centurion SymbioCity project.

His most ambitious plan is the Centurion node, which is positioned within the development corridors linking Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni and therefore will be a major player in the proposed high intensity developments which are destined to take place in the region.

The project on 10ha of prime land near the Gautrain Centurion station, includes creating the tallest building in Africa - at 110 storeys high. The proposed Centurion SymbioCity will feature two office towers, and include hotels, retail facilities, a convention centre and residential space. The project could take anything up to eight years to complete.

Article continues on page two...