The Afhco Group commenced business in 1996, focusing on the redevelopment of Johannesburg inner city apartments. Today Afhco Holdings (Pty) Ltd is recognized as the leading provider of affordable rental accommodation in the Johannesburg inner-city and surrounds, and also boasts a substantial commercial, retail and light industrial portfolio. The Afhco Group currently own 62 buildings in the inner city and 10 outside the city, representing approximately 3500 rental apartments, within the Johannesburg inner-city, and about 300 000m² of retail, commercial and light industrial space. There are currently 5000 residential units under development, with phased delivery to 2011, bringing the total residential rental portfolio value to about 9000 units with a total portfolio of R1.6 billion. Afhco Projects (Pty) Ltd was founded in 2006 as the Construction Project Management company of the Afhco Group. The company was established as a direct result of the shortage of professionals in the construction industry created by the huge scale developments such as Gautrain, and 2010 upgrades, the ability to be flexible and innovative and the need to reduce building costs. Afhco Projects is tasked with the rollout of about 5500 new housing units by 2011 with current projects at various stages of development, at a cost of about 1 billion rand. The company employs directly about 100 staff, with indirect employment through contractors on sites at around 500. Innovative in-house research and testing has led to the development and application of a number of unique building applications.