[imagesource: Kanton]

Kanton, a real estate development firm, dropped the veil on its blueprint for Akademia’s nuwe kampus on 1 August—a private Afrikaans university with the backing of Solidarity, positioned in Pretoria.

This bold R3-billion venture is set to spring up along Boschkop Road in East Pretoria, just a stone’s throw from Solomon Mahlangu Drive. The campus is geared up to host a wide range of academic courses across all its faculties, making room for up to 5,000 full-time undergrad students and around 1,500 postgrads.

Architectural rendering of the planned new Akademia campus in Pretoria East | Image: Kenton

The proposed facilities will include office blocks, lecture rooms, labs, an auditorium, specialised research spaces, a dining hall, various dining establishments, coffee spots, a student hub, a library, and accommodations for staff. There will also be housing available with four residences each for men and women, collectively providing around 1,500 student beds.

Entrance | Image: Kenton

Architectural rendering of the residences | Image: Kenton

Henk Schalekamp, the managing director of Kanton, shared with BusinessTech that the initial phase of the project is budgeted at about R1.8 billion and is expected to be finalised by the 1st of January, 2028, covering all essential academic and operational services.

The initial groundwork is set to kick off around mid-2027, while the first phase of construction is pencilled in to start in January 2026.

The developers say that the campus will sport “world-class” sports facilities for rugby, cricket, netball, tennis, athletics, hockey, swimming, and indoor sports.

Because a university won’t be Afrikaans without a farm, Schalekamp added “There is also an experimental farm planned for the Faculties Natural Sciences and Agriculture”.

Chapel | Image: Kenton

Model of the planned new Akademia campus | Image: Kenton

Kanton, who has never lapsed on developing a project timeously and efficiently, said the campus project represents a turning point in ensuring the sustainability of higher education in Afrikaans.

“We are going to build a giant monument for Afrikaans higher education,” said Schalekamp.

Established in 2011, Akademia came about as a response to the shift many public universities made from Afrikaans to English-only instruction in the name of inclusivity. Since then, it’s grown from offering just three qualifications to providing 12 degrees, along with a range of diplomas and higher certificates, all delivered in Afrikaans. From 2012 to 2022, Akademia’s student body grew from 40 to 2,350, and its staff from five to nearly 200.

At the moment, Akademia is running from two smaller campuses and four residences in Centurion, which are seen as temporary digs until the new campus is ready to roll. For years, there’s been a lot of hype around Akademia’s new campus development, but Schalekamp mentioned that getting the green light from the proper authorities took about three and a half years.

Akademia views the new campus development as an opportunity to cement its growth over the past ten years and to create a solid, lively environment for student life.

[source:businesstech]