Part of the expenditure was to save the presidential bodyguards having to drive 75km after work or having to sleep in their vehicles, he said in an interview with the Sunday Times.
"The president's security had to drop him off and then go and sleep in Eshowe... That not only posed a security risk, but what about those workers' rights?"
Nxesi defended the building of two helipads as "the president flies when he goes to Nkandla".
According to the report, he said the investigation into the upgrades indicated R71m was spent on security and R135m was for operational upgrades.
"Part of it were the facilities which were created for the departments [tasked with ensuring Zuma's security] and the personnel of defence and the police...
"Those are for that personnel, they are not for the president."
Nxesi has been under fire over the findings of the Nkandla task team, which found irregularities in the procurement process for the upgrade.
The team recommended further investigation by authorities such as the Special Investigating Unit and Auditor General.
Nxesi classified the report, under a 1996 cabinet directive. The report is being studied by the parliamentary joint standing committee on intelligence.
He said it was up to the committee to decide whether to release the report to the public.
On Tuesday, the Western Cape High Court ruled a Democratic Alliance application for the report on the upgrade was urgent and would be heard in February. - SAPA
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