Tourism in northern KwaZulu-Natal will be boosted by a new airport, able to accommodate modern jet liners, the province’s tourism minister said on Thursday.
The existing airstrip at Mkuzi, a small town near St Lucia, would be upgraded into a regional airport, which would provide almost instant access to the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, said Narend Singh.
The project should be complete by September 2005. It takes more than three hours to get to the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park by road. Northern KwaZulu-Natal is already served by a regional airport at Richards Bay, but this new airport would make the park even more accessible, Singh said.
He said the decision, made by the district municipality, was ”inspired”.
It would create permanent jobs at Mkuze, and provide a springboard for investment in tourism.
The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park is made up of a number of parks and conservation areas in the region, including St Lucia, Cape Vidal, False Bay Park and Mapelane Nature Reserve.
Singh expected direct spending by tourists in the park to be R300-million a year. – Sapa