Property

The R5 billion security estate that failed and can now become home to a small nuclear power plant

Bianke Neethling • 27 June 2026

Zilkaats Estate in Hartebeespoort is slated to become home to a small modular reactor after the land on which the estate sits was bought by a nuclear technology company.

Situated on the slopes of the Hartebeespoort Dam, near the border of Gauteng and North West, Zilkaats Estate spans 2,000 hectares.

It was originally used as farmland for cattle, but construction of a secure residential estate began in 2007.

Since the estate provided easy access to major business hubs such as Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg, and Brits, it was promoted as the ideal lifestyle alternative for nature lovers.

The estate originally had 1,000 homes available for purchase, each on stands of a sizeable 1,500 m². It assured prospective buyers that around 9,000 m² of land would be available to each resident.

A second construction phase with almost the same number of homes was slated for completion by 2012.

It was promised that a retail centre would also be located within the estate, making everyday goods more accessible to residents.

Residents would have access to running and walking trails, fishing, golf, and two clubhouses on the estate.

“The sheer magnitude of the development is staggering,” Pam Golding Properties’ Gauteng manager at the time, Andre Dippenaar, said in 2008.

“Every stand has either a water frontage or a bushveld vista. The homes will comprise only 28% of the total area, leaving an impressive 72% as free-roaming for the protected wildlife that will be brought in to populate the area.”

However, none of these plans would materialise, as construction on the estate stalled during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

For over a decade after that, development of the estate slowed to a crawl, and the land’s owners realised that they may need to pivot their original plan.

From estate to conservation to clean energy

Zilkaats Estate construction development in 2008

Between 2008 and 2025, Zilkaat Estate’s owners secured mixed-use and light industrial zoning rights for part of the land, allowing them to market to both homebuyers and commercial businesses.

At some point during that period, part of Zilkaats became a Private Memorial and Conservation Park.

Zilkaats Estate and the Sampouri Estate in Limpopo became home to The Preserve, an exclusive burial estate offering “Truly African natural burials” with complete funeral-ceremony facilities.

According to The Preserve’s website, Zilkaats Estate offers a secure, conservation-focused sanctuary.

This includes resting places under indigenous trees and among local wildlife, with 24/7 security patrol, as well as easy access for families to visit, reflect, and remember.

However, another pivot would come very recently, in July 2025, when nuclear technology company Stratek Global partnered with Zilkaats’ owners to develop plans for a small nuclear power station on the land.

The owners offered Stratek a sizeable portion of the 2,000-hectare property to build a small modular reactor (SMR).

According to Hartebeespoort-based community publication Kormorant, the total estate represents a R5.7 billion investment.

Stratek Global chairman Dr Kelvin Kemm said the proposed SMR would deliver 100 MW of heat and 35 MW of clean, reliable energy.

However, he also noted that a reactor site can be expanded to accommodate up to 10 reactors, which would provide 350 MW of electricity.

For reference, Eskom’s only nuclear power station, Koeberg, has a total installed capacity of about 1,940 MW, while the average rooftop solar panel typically has a capacity of around 0.5 MW.

Stratek’s project is set to use a helium gas-cooled technology system, which would eliminate the need for a large water body for cooling, thereby enabling flexible siting.

“It means that you can place a reactor anywhere you like,” he explained. “Zilkaats Estate, which is strategically located near the Necsa Facility at Pelindaba, offers an ideal location for this compact reactor.”

So far, planning for this reactor is still in the beginning stages, but the company said construction could commence within two years.