Three months after a wildfire fire destroyed 53 homes, leaving about 200 people homeless, the Wupperthal site is being handed over to developers.
Residents whose house were gutted by the fire are expected to have their temporary homes built within 12 weeks.
Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela handed the site over to a contractor to begin the task of erecting temporary houses, on Thursday.
Funding for the provision of temporary modular housing units and associated infrastructure in Wupperthal has already been approved by the Human Settlement department.
Madikizela said there were delays because the land is a heritage site which does not belong to the government.
Negotiations had to be done with the landowners, the Moravian Church.
“We acted as soon as the SA Heritage Council gave the go-ahead,” he said.
An assessment by the Moravian Church reportedly found the cost of the damage to be over R20 million.
More: IOL