R5bn Leratong City Development Brings Retail, Entertainment and Housing to Soweto Gateway
R5bn Leratong City Development Brings Retail, Entertainment and Housing to Soweto Gateway. Leratong City, a R5 billion mixed-use development in Kagiso, is opening on 29 October 2026, bringing a regional shopping mall, entertainment facilities and plans for healthcare infrastructure and 15,000 homes to the area northwest of Soweto.
The development is positioned at the R41 and R558 crossroads, with connections to Soweto, Randfontein, Roodepoort, Krugersdorp and Johannesburg’s central business district. Its developers describe it as an urban district combining retail, entertainment, housing and everyday services.
The project follows 16 years of planning and is designed to accommodate major retailers alongside smaller local traders through flexible retail units.
A key feature is Levels, an entertainment precinct designed to accommodate more than 3,000 people. It includes a covered 750-seat amphitheatre with a 40-square-metre digital screen and a stage that can face either the mall or the main intersection.
The precinct also features an 11-restaurant food court with two children’s play areas, three additional sit-down restaurants and an outdoor 300-square-metre children’s play zone.
The first major event scheduled after the opening is The Leratong City All White Soul Session on Saturday, 31 October 2026.
Employment and local business participation are among the development’s reported activities. Of the 495 people employed at the construction site, 330 are from the local area. The project has also appointed 28 local small businesses to provide services.
Students from the area are receiving practical training in engineering and quantity surveying through the development.
The project is located opposite Leratong Hospital, a provincial healthcare facility serving patients from the surrounding region.
Leratong City is part of a broader smart-city vision associated with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2019 proposals for integrated urban development. Its planned residential component comprises 15,000 homes, alongside the mall, entertainment precinct and private hospital included in the development plans.
The project is intended to establish a regional destination for shopping, dining, events and services while creating opportunities for local businesses and workers.
Its opening marks the start of operations at a development that seeks to combine commercial activity, entertainment and residential growth in Kagiso.
