Development plans currently being put into action at Cape Town International airport will enable it to meet projected passenger demand until 2050, the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) has said.
In 1997 ACSA committed more than R1-billion to infrastructure development at the airport. In three years two new international terminals have opened, representing a total investment of R320-million. The international arrivals terminal is capable of processing up to 950 passengers an hour, while the departures terminal can accommodate up to 1 300 passengers, three times that of the previous terminal.
Designed to accommodate 200 000 passengers a month, the domestic terminals are currently handling an average of 280 000 passengers. A R10-million interim expansion, completed in June last year, has helped ease congestion by extending the departure terminal by 10 metres. However, an extensive R300-million overhaul, which starts in June, will more than double capacity and enable Cape Town International to handle up to half a million domestic passengers a month.
More passengers mean more aircraft and so work has started on six new aircraft stands — the first part of a longer-term plan to build satellite mid-field terminals. These new terminals will be situated opposite the existing terminals and linked by underground passages, equipped with travellators.
A second runway is a key aspect of the mid-field construction programme. This R200-million project will prevent air-traffic congestion and provide sufficient take-off and landing slots to meet projected demand until 2050.
Airside development must go hand in hand with expanding landside infrastructure. An additional 850 parking bays are currently under construction, while the planning for a multi-storey car park is being fast-tracked. When the first phase of the parkade is completed by the end of next year, it will provide 2 000 parking bays.