{"id":841151,"date":"2025-10-28T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=841151"},"modified":"2025-10-28T12:45:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T10:45:05","slug":"r84-billion-smart-city-being-built-in-south-africas-richest-province","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/841151\/r84-billion-smart-city-being-built-in-south-africas-richest-province\/","title":{"rendered":"R84 billion smart city being built in South Africa’s richest province"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Balwin Properties\u2019 latest interim results have given insights into the group\u2019s new R84 billion Mooikloof Smart City in Gauteng, with the group starting to spend big on the development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mooikloof Smart City was announced in 2020 as one of the government\u2019s Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development had a total project value of over R84 billion and was one of the 62 SIPs gazetted in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balwin Properties is developing over 14,000 residential units in the smart city, which is set to house residents in the East of Tshwane. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said the development will meet high environmental standards and include energy-efficient appliances, water-saving equipment, and insulation to minimise temperature fluctuations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its latest interim results for the six months ending 31 August 2025, the group said it recorded an increase in developments under construction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elevated construction and development costs primarily drove this as it gears up for increased activity and the next phase of infrastructure required for Mooikloof Smart City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A significant contributor to the increase in capitalised development costs is the next phase of infrastructure required for the Mooikloof Smart City node. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Department of Works is supposed to focus on infrastructure, the JSE-listed company spent heavily on infrastructure during the period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This included extensive road upgrades, storm water solutions, water capacity and electrical infrastructure. In total, R71.3 million was invested in infrastructure in the six months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the prior period, Balwin also disposed of a land parcel at Mooikloof Smart City to develop a shopping centre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No land sales took place in the current period, with the group remaining committed to selling land parcels for development to complementary amenities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This includes retirement developments, schools, fuel stations, and retail facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year<\/a>, the development received a massive boost after the International Finance Corporation (IFC) gave the development a R1 billion ($58 million) facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cl\u00e1udia Concei\u00e7\u00e3o, IFC\u2019s Regional Director for Southern Africa, said the investment will help expand access to quality housing for low and middle-income households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results  <\/h2>\n\n\n
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Balwin said that its results for the six months ended 31 August 2025 reflected improved macroeconomic conditions in South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although global trade risks and weak GDP growth prevailed, the moderation of inflationary pressures and a cautious easing of interest rates by 50 basis points have supported consumer demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The improved environment has also led to a moderation of inflationary pressures and a cautious easing of interest rates of 50 basis points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has supported consumer demand, enhanced loan affordability, and stimulated increased investment in fixed property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The market improvement has led to a more supportive environment for residential property development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group revenue totalled R1.2 billion, an increase of 44% from the prior interim period, reflecting the improved residential housing market conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group revenue was driven by a 51% increase in apartment sales to R1.1 billion, owing to a 45% rise in apartment handover to 928. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, the group recorded a slight decline in gross margin to 29%, primarly due to the absence of land sales in the current period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gross margin from apartment sales remained steady at 23%, which was underpinned by strong profitability at Balwin Annuity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group added that tight cost control contributed to a 35% increase in group operating profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group\u2019s total profit saw an increase of 33% to R102.4 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the group did not declare an interim dividend, with its priority remaining the prudent allocation of capital towards reducing the group\u2019s debt exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Metric<\/th>Result \/ Value<\/th>Change \/ Increase<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Revenue<\/td>R1.2 billion<\/td>\u2191 44%<\/td><\/tr>
Profit for the period<\/td>R102.4 million<\/td>\u2191 33%<\/td><\/tr>
Earnings per share (EPS)<\/td>20.91 cents per share<\/td>\u2191 28%<\/td><\/tr>
Headline earnings per share (HEPS)<\/td>20.91 cents per share<\/td>\u2191 29%<\/td><\/tr>
Net asset value per share (NAV)<\/td>946.03 cents per share<\/td>\u2191 8%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mooikloof Smart City images and renderings<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Balwin Properties has seen a massive rise in earnings despite increasing expenditure linked to the Mooikloof Smart City. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":841163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[11909],"class_list":["post-841151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-balwin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841151"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":841207,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841151\/revisions\/841207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}