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South African airports have World Cup fever

Wednesday June 14, 2006

Football? Did someone say football? While billions of eyes turn toward Germany for the World Cup, South African aviation authorities already are preparing for the 2010 tournament and the expected influx of visitors for the world's biggest sporting event.

South Africa will be the first African country to host the World Cup, and airport authorities have unveiled a series of massive reconstruction projects to mark the occasion. Johannesburg International Airport is to be the centerpiece of the plan. It has committed to building a new ZAR8 billion ($1.18 billion) terminal to accommodate increasing passenger numbers and aircraft movements, as well as a new cargo facility to meet the growing demands of just-in-time shipments into and out of the country.

JNB GM Chris Hlekane said the new terminal building will be constructed in the empty space between the two north-south runways and would have its own domestic and international check-in facilities. Johannesburg currently handles 16.1 million passengers a year, and that number is projected to exceed 22 million by 2012. The terminal expenditure is in addition to the ZAR3 billion already allocated to upgrade the airport before the 2010 World Cup.

Airports Company SA, which owns and manages JNB and nine other major airports around South Africa, expects more than 350,000 soccer fans to visit during the month-long tournament. It has announced plans to spend ZAR5.3 billion to upgrade the airports, bringing forward some plans that already were in place and introducing other initiatives. Key projects at JNB that have been brought forward include the train station for the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link, runways, taxiways, and air bridges to accommodate the A380 and two multi-story car parks.

Meanwhile, Cape Town International Airport has been allocated ZAR650 million for the building of a new two-story domestic terminal building, and a further ZAR350 million for the construction of an upper and lower roadway system to feed it. The design of the terminal will accommodate the airport's first six air bridges for domestic flights.

Durban International Airport is to have a ZAR35 million extension of its international terminal, while more than ZAR130 million has been allocated for the refurbishment of the four other major national airports - Port Elizabeth, George, East London and Bloemfontein - over the next five years.

Other long term plans for ACSA include the relocation of the main runway at Cape Town to the slight east of its current position to allow for development between the present runway and terminal buildings.

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