The City of Johannesburg is racing against time to wrestle back a piece of prime land in Sandton that was "gifted" to Gautrain station landlord in an "irregular" deal.

The city now has two weeks to prepare for another court battle to stop the possible liquidation of Cedar Park Properties 39 which leases the station to Gautrain.

The city wants the sale of the land by its entity, Johannesburg Property Company in 2009 to Cedar Park, reversed because the company has failed to pay a cent for it.

Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba said the city issued a bond against itself in a deal made 10 years ago to finance the sale of the R280m property to a private company.

"My lawyers are working around the clock to interdict this business rescue so that we can cancel this bond and take back our land and the land can then belong to the people of Johannesburg," said Mashaba.

"We cannot allow our land to be stolen by criminal syndicates, working with the senior government officials."

The city is embroiled in another court battle with Cedar Park after it cut off water supply to the Gautrain station two weeks ago due to unpaid property taxes.

According to Mashaba, the "irregular" sale agreement between Cedar Park and JPC also sought to waiver property rates until a second phase of development on the land.

The deal included that the prime land, in the heart of Sandton, would house the busy Gautrain station as well as a property development worth up to R4bn.

However, that development has not seen the light of day and, Vantage Capital, a company that invested R150m in 2013 in the development, has filed to liquidate Cedar Park in a bid to get its money back.

Council officials told Sowetan that this liquidation posed a huge risk to the city as it could end up losing the prime land that could generate up R16m in property rates a month.

"The city believes that it has a week to determine if it can go to court to look at possible options to set aside the sale of that land," said a council official close to the matter.

"Ultimately, if the liquidation or business rescue is successful, it will become a lot more difficult for the city to reverse that sale because after liquidation the land will become what the creditor wants."

The city's legal heads are now preparing for a new court battle to take back the land.

The city has already instituted a forensic investigation look into the sale of the land as well as an ongoing litigation against Cedar Park to reconnect water supply to the property.

Insiders said that the city has until next week Friday to lodge its court papers as interested party in the liquidation application as well as the move by Cedar Park shareholders to place the company in business rescue.

Sowetan understands that hearings for the liquidation of Cedar Park and its business rescue would be heard in two weeks.

The city intends to argue that Cedar Park acquired the two hectare land irregularly and that the council is in the process of getting the entire sale reversed.