Acsa repositions cargo strategy

Cargo has had a tough time finding its place in the Airports Company South Africa’s (Acsa) framework, but the tide is turning as the organisation realises the important economic role it plays, according to Kesavan Naicker, Acsa projects manager at OR Tambo International Airport. ‘Airports must face up to the challenge of lowering the costs per unit.’ “Cargo is recognised as an important economic driver. Every 100 000 tons of cargo moved is estimated to contribute to the creation of 1000 direct and 1600 indirect jobs,” he said at the monthly Transport Forum hosted by the University of Johannesburg last week. “In terms of Acsa, cargo has had a difficult time finding its place possibly because it has been easy for us to ignore it as our core business is passengers and our biggest cargo involvement has been the leasing of warehouses.” But, said Naicker, this is fast changing as it has become clear that cargo makes a significant contribution and more governments and airports globally are increasingly pursuing more cargo activity. “We have also come to understand that to be successful within the cargo industry it is important to ensure centralised 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier as well as express facilities, integrated customs procedures, increased quality, security and close co-operation with the cargo community.” Naicker said this would be the focus of Acsa in the coming years. “We are repositioning the cargo business within the Acsa business and in this regard have drawn up a welldefined business plan. We are also putting in place a division that will deal specifically with cargo. This division should be up and running within the next 12 months.” According to Naicker, the focus initially will be on OR Tambo International Airport as it is the largest airport in Africa both in terms of passengers and cargo, with some 90% of the country’s air cargo moving through it. “The Western precinct, where most of our cargo warehouses are situated, is practically saturated and therefore Acsa has initiated development of new logistics areas.” Naicker said the biggest challenge for the airport was further development as it was currently operating at some 19 million passengers per annum and with a ceiling of 24 million per year it did not leave room for much further development. “In terms of cargo our biggest challenges lie in the imbalance towards imports. Also dedicated freighter volumes are very low at only 25% so there is a continued reliance on belly cargo,” he said. “Our forecasts indicate that we could increase our cargo at the airport from around 300 000 tons currently to about 621 000 tons per year by 2025.” He said Acsa had chosen a low forecast as the majority of goods moving through the airport remained high-value beneficiated products with saturated capacity inbound and virtually nothing outbound. “The low forecast scenario is therefore what we believe will be the most realistic as we don’t see airlines being quick to respond in any uptake in this area as it remains a costly business. Airports must face up to the challenge of lowering the costs per unit, but as the volumes remain low this can’t happen,” he said. “We have capacity at the airport, yes it is not optimal maybe, but we can’t increase this capacity without adding costs. Until we have sufficient economic argument to increase and upgrade capacity we won’t do anything major as it is just not warranted at present.” Naicker said South Africa needed to focus on being more competitive. “And yes the air cargo profile is a symptom of that. The fact that we are not exporting tells us there are fundamental challenges in the South African make up. To boost competitiveness you start with education – at the bottom and work your way up."