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Cost of Building Property in South Africa – 2023/2024 AECOM 34th Edition
The cost of building property and infrastructure in the period 2023 to 2024 in the South African construction market is shown below, for various projects which include houses, apartment blocks, duplexes, townhouses, community centres, office, retail, industrial, hotels, hospitals, schools and other types of buildings, ranging from low-cost to luxury. Building costs are given in costs per square metre and other units where applicable, in the Rand currency (ZAR). To find the approximate cost of your project, measure the total gross floor area of the built area and multiply by the rates below.
Building rates
Rates include the cost of appropriate building services,for example, air-conditioning, but exclude costs of site infrastructure development, parking, any future escalation, loss of interest, professional fees and value-added tax (VAT).
Office Buildings – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
- Low-rise office park development with standard specification R 10,000 – R 12,300
- Low-rise prestigious office park development R 12,900 – R 19,200
- High-rise tower block with standard specification R 14,500 – R 19,200
- High-rise prestigious tower block R 19,200 – R 24,200
Office rates exclude parking and include appropriate tenant allowances
incorporating carpets, wallpaper, louvre drapes, partitions, lighting, air-
conditioning and electrical reticulation.
Parking – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
- Parking on grade, including integral landscaping R 700 – R 900
- Structured parking R 4,900 – R 5,400
- Parking in semi-basement R 5,400 – R 7,300
- Parking in basement R 5,700 – R 10,000
Retail Buildings – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
- Local convenience centres
(Not exceeding 5,000m²) R 9,800 – R 12,900
- Neighbourhood centres
(5,000 – 12,000m²) R 10,800 – R 14,200
- Community centres
(12,000 – 25,000m²) R 11,800 – R 15,000
- Minor regional centres
(25,000 – 50,000m²) R 12,500 – R 16,000
- Regional centres
(50,000 – 100,000m²) R 13,200 – R 16,000
- Super regional centres
(exceeding 100,000m²) R 14,500 – R 18,700
Industrial Buildings – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
Industrial warehouses, including office and change facilities within structure area (architect/engineer designed):
- Steel frame, steel cladding and roof sheeting (light-duty) R 5,100 – R 6,500
- Steel frame, brickwork to ceiling, steel cladding above and roof sheeting (heavy-duty) R 5,700 – R 8,200
- Administration offices, ablution and change room block R 9,200 – R 11,900
- Cold storage facilities R 17,400 – R 24,700
Residential Buildings
Rate per site (excl. VAT)
- Site services to low-cost housing stand (250-350m²) R 63,000 – R 100,000
Rate per m2 (excl. VAT)
- RDP housing R 3,000 – R 3,200
- Low-cost housing R 3,800 – R 6,500
- Simple low-rise apartment block R 9,100 – R 12,700
- Duplex townhouse – economic R 9,100 – R 13,000
- Prestige apartment block R 17,800 – R 26,000
Residential Buildings – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
Private dwelling houses:
- Economic R 7,000
- Standard R 8,700
- Middle-class R 10,500
- Luxury R 14,600
- Exclusive R 23,000
- Exceptional (‘super luxury’) R 34,000 – R 70,000
Out buildings
– Standard R 6,500
– Luxury R 9,200
External Works – Rate per no. (excl. VAT)
Carport (shaded)
– Single R 5,600
– Double R 11,300
Carport (covered)
– Single R 8,800
– Double R 17,200
Swimming pool
Not exceeding 50 kl – R 110,000
Exceeding 50 kl and not exceeding 100 kl – R 196,000
Tennis court
Standard – R 650,000
Floodlit – R 810,000
Student residential – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
High rise tower block with standard specification R 14,100 – R 15,500
Student residential rates include allowances for furniture, fittings and equipment (FF&E).
Hotels – Rate per key (excl. VAT)
- Budget R 788,000 – R 1,255,000
- Mid-scale (3-star) R 1,255,000 – R 1,884,000
- Upper-scale (4-star) R 1,884,000 – R 2,650,000
- Luxury (5-star) R 2,650,000 – R 3,550,000
Hotel rates include allowances for furniture, fittings and equipment (FF&E).
Studios Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
Studios – dancing, art exhibitions, etc. R 17,500 – R 25,000
Conference centres – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
Conference centre to international standards R 32,000 – R 40,000
Retirement centres – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
Dwelling houses
Middle-class R 10,300
Luxury R 14,500
Apartment block
Middle-class R 10,600
Luxury R 16,400
Community centre
Middle-class R 13,900
Luxury R 20,300
Frail care R 16,500
Schools – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
Primary school R 8,200 – R 9,500
Secondary school R 9,800 – R 10,500
Hospitals – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
District hospital R 34,000
Hospital rates exclude allowances for furniture, fittings and equipment (FF&E).
Stadiums – Rate per seat (excl. VAT)
Stadium to PSL standards R 42,000 – R 65,000
Stadium to FIFA standards R 98,000 – R 129,000
Rate per pitch (excl. VAT)
Stadium pitch to FIFA standards R 28,000,000 – R 33,000,000
Prisons – Rate per inmate (excl. VAT)
1,000 inmate prison R 733,000 – R 779,000
500 inmate prison R 756,000 – R 872,000
High/maximum security prison R 1,165,000 – R 1,540,000
Infrastructure airport development costs
Rates exclude any future escalation, loss of interest, professional fees,VAT and ACSA direct costs.
Apron stands – Rate per m² (excl. VAT) (incl. associated infrastructure)
Code F Stand
(85m long x 80m wide = 6,800m²) R 6,900
Code E Stand
(80m long x 65m wide = 5,200m²) R 7,300
Code C Stand
(56m long x 40m wide = 2,240m²) R 9,300
Taxi lanes – Rate per m (excl. VAT) (incl. associated infrastructure)
Code F taxi lane (101m wide) R 231,000
Code E taxi lane (85m wide) R 194,000
Code C taxi lane (49m wide) R 115,000
Service roads – Rate per m (excl. VAT)
Service road (10m wide) R 23,000
Dual carriage service road (15m wide) R 29,000
Taxi ways – Rate per m (excl. VAT) (incl. associated infrastructure)
Code F taxi way (70m wide) R 172,000
Runways – Rate per m (excl. VAT) (incl. associated infrastructure)
Code F runway (3,885m long x 60m wide = 233,100m²) R 387,000
Parking – Rate per bay (excl. VAT) (excluding bulk earthworks)
Structured parking R 237,000
Basement parking R 355,000
Perimeter fencing/security gates – Rate per m (excl. VAT)
Perimeter walls with perimeter intrusion detection (PIDS) R 10,800
Terminal buildings – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
Terminal buildings (excl. baggage and X-ray systems, air bridges, seating and aircraft docking systems) – R 38,000
Rate per unit (excl. VAT)
Telescopic air bridges R 14,260,000
Aircraft docking system R 2,053,000
Building Services
The following rates are for building services (mechanical and electrical), which are applicable to typical building types in the categories indicated. Rates are dependent on various factors related to the design of the building and the requirements of the system.
In particular, the design, and therefore the cost of air-conditioning, can vary significantly depending on the orientation, shading, extent and type of glazing, external wall and roof construction.
Electrical installation – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
Offices
- Standard installation – R 950 – R 1,400
- Sophisticated installation – R 1,400 – R 1,750
- UPS, substations, standby generators to office buildings R 650 – R 850
- Residential R 850 – R 1,400
- Shopping centres R 1,400 – R 1,800
- Hotels R 1,500 – R2,000
- Hospitals R 1,950 – R 2,850
Electronic installation – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
Offices
- Standard installation R 450 – R 650
- Sophisticated installation R 650 – R 950
- Residential R 400 – R 650
- Shopping centres R 900 – R 1,200
- Hotels R 850 – R 1,200
- Hospitals R 900 – R 1,300
Electronic installation includes access control, CCTV, public address, fire detection, data installation, WiFi, CATV, PABX (Private Automatic Branch Exchange) and Building Management System (BMS).
Fire protection installation – Rate per m² (excl. VAT) (offices)
Sprinkler system, including hydrants and hose reels (excluding void sprinklers) R 400 – R 500
Air-conditioning installation – Rate per m² (excl. VAT)
Ventilation to parking/service areas R 400 – R 650
Offices
- Console units R 1,050 – R 1,500
- Console/split units R 1,200 – R 1,900
- Package units R 1,750 – R 2,600
- Central plant R 2,150 – R 3,350
- Residential–split units R 1,200 – R 1,900
Shopping centres
- Split units R 1,400 – R 2,000
- Package units R 1,750 – R 2,600
- Evaporative cooling R 1,100 – R 1,650
- Hotels – public areas R 2,150 – R 3,350
- Hospitals central plant R 2,800 – R 4,450
Hotels – Rate per key (excl. VAT)
- Console units R 27,000 – R 36,750
- Split units R 36,700 – R 56,150
- Central plant R 73,450 – R 110,150
- Hospitals – operating theatres R 800,000 – R 1,350,000