Construction Accelerates On R3.2 Billion Private Afrikaans University In Pretoria East

Akademia's massive Pretoria East campus project is underway, featuring 19 million liters of water storage and capacity for 6,000 students by 2028.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 22, 2026, 5:55 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Daily Investor

The Physical Manifestation Of A Decade Of Planning

Construction of Akademia’s new flagship campus in Pretoria East is rapidly moving past foundational stages, with structural elements for student residences now visible. This development represents the culmination of nearly ten years of strategic planning by the private Afrikaans university, which only launched its full-time residential model in 2021. Located on Boschkop Road, approximately eight kilometers from Solomon Mahlangu Drive, the site is currently the focus of Phase 1 construction. The project is designed to centralize Akademia’s academic offerings, moving beyond its current dispersed footprint of administrative offices and smaller residential houses in Centurion.

Massive Scale And Engineering Requirements

Kanton, the development firm overseeing the project, has characterized the campus as the largest construction undertaking in the history of the Afrikaans language community. The engineering specifications are immense, requiring 7.1 million bricks and 110,000 square meters of plaster. To ensure the university operates independently of state energy and water distribution networks, the site includes 23 kilometers of underground piping and 19 million liters of dedicated water storage. The early phases of work necessitated the movement of 360,000 cubic meters of soil, a volume comparable to a freight train stretching 140 kilometers in length.

Strategic Land Acquisition And Funding Model

The path to breaking ground was extended by complex land negotiations and the global pandemic. Henk Schalekamp of Kanton noted that the land was identified in 2019 when the institution had only 700 students, but the purchase was finalized only in March 2024. The financing for the project draws on a unique blend of Kanton’s own balance sheet and capital raised through Solidarity donations. Phase 1 alone carries a price tag of R1.8 billion, while the total development cost is expected to exceed R3 billion upon completion of all subsequent phases.