If everything went according to plan, Gauteng’s 25-year integrated transport master plan (ITMP25) could be “published by the end of July”, said ITMP25 project leader Jack van der Merwe on Tuesday.

The 25-year plan was developed on the back of a realisation that current traffic congestion and land use patterns in Gauteng did not support the long-term economic growth and development of the region.

“The ITMP25 vision wants to deliver a world-class, sustainable transport system,” said Van der Merwe at AfricaRail 2013, held in Johannesburg.

However, he added that the plan had to be managed as a social project, rather than a transport project, as it sought to reshape Gauteng in more aspects that the construction of mere road and rail systems.

Gauteng made up only 1.42% of South Africa’s land area, but was home to 12.27-million people, or 23.7% of the country’s population. This equated to 675 people per square kilometre – a number which was expected to rise sharply over the next few years.

In turn, however, the province generated 33.7% of South Africa’s gross domestic product.

Van der Merwe said the Gauteng government was “trying to develop” the small province as a global city region, similar to Singapore, especially as its three main cities continued to merge as the population expanded.

He added that the ITMP25 project had to consider several key issues, such as a change in approach to low-cost housing, as more units were needed per hectare in order to ensure land densification in the fast-growing province.

This would require, for example, multiple-story buildings, rather than single story dwellings.

Van der Merwe said the plan would also look at, among other issues, the strict enforcement of the urban periphery; enabling road-based public transport delivery; improving the efficiency of the rail system, mainstreaming nonmotorised transport; establishing high-occupancy lanes on highways; and reserving land for a third international airport.

The first short-term step in putting in place a transport plan for Gauteng was to establish a single transport authority, which would look at the province’s transport needs holistically, he added.

“If we don’t succeed here, we might as well not bother with the rest.”

This particular goal formed part of a shorter-term, five-year Gauteng transport plan, drawn up to look at matters that required urgent attention prior to the implementation of the ITMP25.