eThekwini is the metropolitan municipality of Durban, the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It ranks third among the most populous urban areas in South Africa after Johannesburg and Cape Town. It is also the second most important manufacturing hub in South Africa after Johannesburg. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism. The municipality, which includes neighbouring towns, has a population of almost 3.5 million, making the combined municipality one of the biggest cities on the Indian Ocean coast of the African continent.
eThekwini has made significant progress towards the achievement of Urban Transformation over the past few years. A cross sectoral Integration Forum has been established and meets each month. The BEPP plays a valuable integration role for the various built environment sector plans and continues to strengthen the link between the Spatial Development Framework (SDF) and the budget imperatives whilst also assisting the City to better articulate its objectives and vision. A pipeline of catalytic projects has been prioritised and contributes directly to achieving economic growth in an environmentally sustainable way and supporting social inclusion and improved management of the public realm. The Cities Support Programme assists eThekwini through the Capacity Support Implementation Plan (CSIP) and includes support to the development of a Corporate Plan; funding and financing models and institutional arrangements for catalytic projects; informal settlements upgrading support; and the development of a long term financial strategy.
The main areas for cooperation are:
- Transport systems (BRT)
- Transit-oriented-development
- Spatial budgeting
- Public/Private partnerships
- Engineering technologies in the areas of waste water, water, solid waste etc
- Smart City strategy
- Sustainable energy planning
- City Centre Rejuvenation