New R3.1 million library opens in the largest township in Cape Town
Residents of Khayelitsha now have access to the renovated Khayelitsha Library, which officially opened its doors on 24 June 2026.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis officially opened the newly renovated Khayelitsha library. This follows R3.1 million in major restoration work completed after severe fire damage in 2024.
The repairs included replacing the roof and ceiling, painting and repairing walls both inside and outside, installing new flooring and tiling, refurbishing public toilets, and upgrading lighting, electrical systems, and network infrastructure.
According to the mayor, the City of Cape Town operates 102 libraries throughout the metro area, which received more than seven million visits last year. The total library membership exceeds 253,000.
“Over the next three years, we plan to invest R227 million in library upgrades, equipment, books and subscriptions,” said Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
Renovations for the Khayelitsha Site B Library began in October 2025, with the total construction cost amounting to nearly R3.1 million.
“It is symbolic of the standard of care and service that we want to give to every resident of Cape Town,” said Hill-Lewis.
“We firmly believe that every resident, regardless of where they live, is entitled to only the best quality community facilities, such as this library,” he said.
“This is the dignity that we want to give everyone in Cape Town, and I am proud that the residents of Khayelitsha will find it at this library.”
Hill-Lewis stressed the importance of restoring an important service to the broader Khayelitsha community.
“The library is a beautiful example of how a dignified public service building should look like – a clean, safe and accessible facility, close to where people live, and open to residents of all ages.”
Hill-Lewis urged the Khayelitsha community to protect the renovated facility and to cooperate with the staff working on site.
“This team took pride in leading the way during construction by packing the entire library collection into approximately 300 boxes containing books, computers, and other library materials to be stored at other libraries,” said Hill-Lewis.
The City has refurbished several other libraries, including those in Woodstock, Tafelsig, and Langa, as well as the Nazeema Isaacs Library in Khayelitsha.
Other significant projects currently in progress include:
- The refurbishment of the Brown’s Farm library, which sustained extensive damage in 2023.
- Doubling the size of the Lwandle Library, also known as the Hector Petersen Memorial Library.
The newly renovated Khayelitsha Site B library was opened to the public on Wednesday, June 24.
The second-largest township in South Africa
Khayelitsha is the second-largest township in South Africa, after Soweto and the largest township in Cape Town.
Khayelitsha, which translates to “Our New Home” in isiXhosa, is located approximately 30 kilometres from the centre of Cape Town.
The township houses a large workforce that commutes daily for jobs throughout the Cape Town metropolitan area. According to the official 2011 census, Khayelitsha had a population of 391,749 residents.
However, current estimates vary significantly, ranging from 500,000 to over one million, with some community organisations suggesting figures as high as 1.2 million residents.
The population continues to grow, with approximately 10,000 new arrivals settling in the area each year, predominantly from the Eastern Cape province.
Khayelitsha was established in the early 1980s during the apartheid era. The layout of the township reflects the urban planning policies of that time, which included limited-access roads and considerable distances from major employment centres.
The five most common occupations in the township highlight its role in the broader Cape Town economy.
These occupations include domestic work (19.4%), service work (15.2%), skilled manual labour (15.2%), unskilled manual labour (11%), and security services (10.4%).
Many residents are employed in fields such as hospitality, construction, retail, and household services throughout the metropolitan area.
Photos of the renovated Khayelitsha Library
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