Midrand was established as a municipality in 1981 (in an area known as Halfway House, named after its position between Pretoria and Johannesburg[2]), but ceased to be an independent town in the restructuring of local government that followed the end of apartheid in 1994. It was incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in 2000. It was made part of Region 2 and, as of 2006, when the number of regions were reduced to seven, it forms part of Region A of the City of Johannesburg.
In 2010, it was reported that the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality wished to annex Midrand from the City of Johannesburg, reportedly to boost its income, which was severely strained.[3]
The city is relatively modern, having experienced much growth in the last decade. Many businesses have relocated there due to its proximity to good highway links and its location in the economic centre of Gauteng Province. The development of Midrand has resulted in little break between the outskirts of Johannesburg and those of Pretoria.
Midrand has the largest[citation needed] conference centre in South Africa which is known as Gallagher Estate which was built on the former site of Halfway House Primary School, which subsequently moved to new grounds near the fire station.
A landmark of Midrand is the Nizamiye Mosque, opened in 2012,[6] the largest mosque in South Africa. The Classical Turkish-stylemosque was personally funded by Turkish-born construction tycoon Ali Katircioglu at a cost of R210 million.
The largest single-phase shopping mall built in Africa, The Mall of Africa, is located in the Waterfall City precinct of the town.[7][8]
It is now also home to the new headquarters for a multinational auditing-finance company, PWC. (Constructed by WSP) Visible, as currently (2018) the only skyscraper in Midrand. It will however be rivaled by its upcoming twin, The Falcon Building. Both the Falcon and PWC are in the same complex as Mall of Africa. Other landmarks include the Boulders Shopping centre, so named after the heritage site housing huge granite rocks which are approximately 3.5-billion years old.[9]
Business
Midrand is a thriving business node, home to the offices of major corporations such as Vodacom, Microsoft, Neotel, and Altech Autopage as well as an array of small and medium enterprises.
In 2013, Atterbury Properties announced plans to build the Mall of Africa, which would be one of the continent's largest.[7] The Mall of Africa is located within the green, mixed-use Waterfall City precinct.[7][8] The N1 Business Park and International Business Gateway are among the commercial developments in Midrand. The latest industrial development is called Waterfall Logistics Precinct.
Kyalami, an international renowned racetrack is in Midrand and is the venue for many of South Africa's premier motor racing events. The South African Lipizzaners riding academy is situated in the smallholdings of Kyalami.
Transport
Midrand lies along the N1 (Ben Schoeman Freeway) which runs through the town in a northerly direction from Johannesburg (south) to Pretoria (north). Midrand is connected to the N1 by the M39 Allandale Road, M71 New Road, R562 Olifantsfontein Road and the M36 Samrand Road in Centurion. The N3 (Eastern Bypass) lying just south of Midrand, intersects the N1 at the Buccleuch Interchange and runs southwards to Germiston and Durban.
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