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- Set to open in 2027 for domestic and international flights, the expanded Cape Winelands Airport on the outskirts of Durbanville will forever change the landscape of the Cape Winelands.
- A R7 billion investment in the area, the current airport facilities will be entirely upgraded to be classified as a Code F airport that specifies the requirements of facilities for the landing and take-off of the largest passenger airliners, such as the Airbus A380.
- Air-traffic figures are projected at 1,7 million passengers per annum on the day it opens, growing to 2 million by 2030, 3,8 million by 2040, and 5,2 million in 2050 to take 25% of the total market of Cape Town International Airport (CTIA).
Set to open in 2027 for domestic and international flights, the expanded Cape Winelands Airport on the outskirts of Durbanville will forever change the landscape of the Cape Winelands.
A R7 billion investment in the area, the current airport facilities will be entirely upgraded to be classified as a Code F airport that specifies the requirements of facilities for the landing and take-off of the largest passenger airliners, such as the Airbus A380.
Air-traffic figures are projected at 1,7 million passengers per annum on the day it opens, growing to 2 million by 2030, 3,8 million by 2040, and 5,2 million in 2050 to take 25% of the total market of Cape Town International Airport (CTIA).
The expansion programme includes a realigned 3,5 km runway
with all associated airside infrastructure, a new boutique terminal building,
cargo facilities and fuel-storage amenities, and future commercial developments
planned will include offices and hotels.
Speaking at a media briefing at the airport this morning,
managing director of holding company and private developer RSA.Aero Nick
Ferguson said the project has been years in the making.
“We bought the existing airport in 2020 and have been working on the project since then to understand the product that is needed for Cape Town in terms of aviation transport.”
READ | Public to comment on new Cape Winelands airport development in Durbanville, Cape Town
He revealed this airfield, originally built in 1943, will be the mothership in a network of airports to come in other cities of the country.
“Our saying is: The airport leases the city, the city follows the airport and the airport becomes the city. That is what airports do, as illustrated in the Unites States of America that has some 2 000 airports.”
According to Ferguson the Johannesburg Cape Town route is the 10th busiest air route in the world.
Managing director of the airport Deon Cloete said the reasons for the original construction of the airport by the allied forces 80 years ago is still fully relevant today.
“It is situated at the urban edge, at sea level with a 400-ft elevation that puts it out of the winter fog band,” he said adding that the 5 km stretch of Joostenbergvlakte was sufficient to put down the 3.5 km runway.
He said the emerging metropolis of Cape Town has shown much growth in the northern suburbs, making it the core of “the growth point”.
“With a fast-growing city that is isolated from the north, a second airport it is absolutely needed. Passengers drive airlines and there is a need in this area, from here and up into the West Coast.”
In addition, the placement of the airport will substantially reduce fuel consumption and the amount of back-up fuel that needs to be carried, which translates to a 5% reduction of carbon emissions per flight. Moreover, he says the new airport will be a temporary relief in case of closures at CTIA.
Socio-economic driving factors for the project was reduced costs of flying, job creation and more accessible air transport for the nearby catchment areas.
The development is currently being processes in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), to which the first round of public responses closed on 8 December. A second round will follow next year, with the start of construction anticipated for 2025.
Cloete said positive feedback was received from some nearby communities.
“As developers we must show the advantage of the development outweighs the disadvantages,” he said. “We continuously engage with role players and are open to engaging with communities at all stages of the process.”
