The City of Cape Town has signed a Power of Attorney in favour of the National Department of Public Works as part of an agreement that will see the municipality and National Government exchange ownership of key land parcels in the metro.

This follows recent recommendations by Council to transfer ownership of land in the Parliamentary precinct, currently owned by the City, in exchange for properties of equal value within Cape Town owned by the National Government, including portions of land within the Good Hope Centre precinct.

Additional properties owned by the National Department of Public Works are also being considered as part of the transaction to fulfil municipal functions.

The City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos says that the groundbreaking effort will mean that the municipality can move with efficiency towards its proposed auctioning of the Good Hope Centre for redevelopment. “And importantly, because the properties exchanged are of equal market value, neither government entity is incurring an additional cost. I firmly believe that our land portfolio must drive economic growth rather than sit idle, and this agreement sets the standard for how we will put our properties to productive, purposeful use,” he adds.

The total extent of the land to be transferred to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is approximately 7 846m².

Alongside this transaction, Council has adopted a report approving the release of the Good Hope Centre precinct for restoration and redevelopment with the property to go on sale via a City-appointed auctioneer in 2026.