The city with the best service delivery in South Africa

Cape Town is South Africa’s top-performing city for service delivery, backed by a record R120 billion infrastructure pipeline, a capital budget set to exceed R14 billion annually, and investment that outpaces all Gauteng metros.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said Cape Town is on track to achieve greater infrastructure investment than all three Gauteng metros combined.

The Mayor was speaking at the launch of the city’s latest Infrastructure Report, which shows how Cape Town is South Africa’s leading metro for infrastructure investment.

Cape Town currently has a R120 billion 10-year infrastructure pipeline – a record for South Africa.

Around 130,000 construction-related jobs will flow from capital investment in the current term of office alone, with an economic impact of R17 billion.

To meet the infrastructure needs of a growing city, Cape Town has increased investment, with the 2027/28 draft capital budget of R14.7 billion, more than double the first budget of this term (R6.9 billion in 2022/23).

By 2027/28, the city’s capital budget will also exceed the combined R14.4 billion of all three Gauteng metros.

Overall, 45% of the investment is in basic services (water, sanitation, energy), 18% in transport, 11% in housing, and 8% in public spaces and amenities.

“We are building South Africa’s city of hope by investing in the basic infrastructure needed to support a working city,” Hill-Lewis said.

“In this way, future Cape Town will be an even better place to live, with vastly improved infrastructure, especially in our fastest-growing lower-income communities.”

Hill-Lewis noted that the City of Cape Town is not only on track to outspend all three Gauteng metros combined during this term of office.

“A full 75% of Cape Town’s infrastructure budget directly benefits lower income households over the next three years for better water, sanitation, roads, sporting facilities and communities,” he said.

Johannesburg left in the dust

Just the 75% pro-poor portion of Cape Town’s capital budget, which amounts to R10 billion in 2025/26, exceeds Joburg’s entire capital budget of R8.7 billion.

Cape Town’s pro-poor spending for the 2025/26 Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework includes –

• R4.5 billion for South Africa’s biggest public transport project by any city, the new MyCiTi Bus route linking Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and various other communities to Wynberg/Claremont
• R2 billion to bring down sewer spills and water pipe bursts by replacing 100 km of sewer and 50 km of water pipes per year, mostly in lower-income communities
• Major bulk sewer upgrades, such as the Cape Flats sewer upgrade, which is South Africa’s biggest sewer upgrade project, benefit over 300,000 households
• Major Wastewater works upgrades, including the recently completed R4 billion Zandvliet plant upgrade, which serves the whole of Khayelitsha and beyond
• R3.5 billion for road upgrades, repairs and congestion relief
• R3.4 billion for informal settlement upgrades
• R1 billion for street light upgrading and repair
• R397 million for public transport station upgrades
• R272 million for informal trading infrastructure upgrades

Cape Town has also invested more in infrastructure than Joburg and Tshwane combined over the current term of office to date.

From 2022 to 2025, Cape Town’s actual capital spending was R25.7 billion, whereas Joburg’s and Tshwane’s were R22.8 billion each.

Additionally, Cape Town is also on track to outspend all three Gauteng metros combined based on current spending patterns in this term of office.

One of the starkest examples of the investment gap is that Cape Town’s sewer and water pipe replacements far exceed those of all Gauteng metros combined.

In four years, the city has more than doubled its replacement rate, while Gauteng metros remain below their 2022/23 peak. Total kilometres of sewer and water pipes replaced from 2022/23 to 2024/25 –

• Cape Town: 401 km
• Joburg: 98 km
• Tshwane: 58 km
• Ekhuruleni: 26 km

In 2024/25, Cape Town replaced three times as many water and sewer pipes as Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni combined.

Major infrastructure investments

Cape Town’s latest Infrastructure Report revealed key areas of strategic expenditure over the next decade, with new programmes showcasing the City’s future-focused infrastructure agenda to adapt to rapid growth.

This includes accelerated pipe replacement, the energy transition, and support for micro-developers to build more Small-Scale Rental Units

The public transport investment focus remains the multi-billion-rand MyCiTi expansion, from Mitchells Plain/Khayelitsha and communities across the metro’s south-east, the biggest project of its kind in South Africa.

The medium-term portfolio has been expanded to include additional road reconstruction, rehabilitation, and stormwater projects. Outer-year investment relates to transport corridor development and congestion relief initiatives.

The New Water Programme strategy will also increase and diversify the city’s drinking water supply by between 70 and 100 million litres per day over time.

Wastewater expansions and sludge re-use projects through 2039 will support population growth and urban development.

Resilience and service reliability are being strengthened by distribution network investments, pump station upgrades, and public-private partnership mechanisms.

Additionally, the city is expanding the current landfill, with Coastal Park height expansion on track pending approval (2026), as well as the Vissershok South landfill cell extension. The new landfill is expected to be completed by 2036.

Cape Town is also emerging as a national leader in municipal energy transition, as it works to build an affordable, low-carbon energy system.

The city is investing in generation projects, energy efficiency, and grid upgrades to enable a dynamic, decentralised energy future.