Jaspreet Kindra
The government has given the go-ahead for the sale of the Durban airport site and the airport’s relocation to La Mercy, outside the city.
Relocation to a site 30km north of Durban will cost R980-million, according to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
The decision comes after years of negotiation between the government, the Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) and the Durban council.
The existing airport is too small for Durban’s needs and cannot function as an international terminal.
Department of Transport official Tsepo Peege said the decision was taken at a meeting last month between the department and the board of Acsa, which owns Durban International.
In his state of the nation address last year President Thabo Mbeki announced that the government was to take a final decision on the new facility, also referred to as “King Shaka Airport”.
The airport will now be a part of a “special purpose vehicle”, the Dube Trade Port Private Limited, to be established in the next three months.
A financial contribution of R250-million from both the province and the Durban unicity will be made to the company over the next five years.
Dube’s aim is to establish a R2-billion multi-modal platform on South Africa’s east coast. Included in this project will be a modern airport terminal with a capacity of four-million passengers, which will be built by 2006.
The other ventures include an industrial development zone with a modern freight facility, a cyber port and village focusing on information technology ventures and a training centre for organic farmers producing for export.