Acsa succeeds in delaying La Mercy project

LEONARD NEILL IT’S ROUND one to Airports Company of SA (Acsa) in the legal battle for the right to control the La Mercy site where the planned King Shaka International Airport is to be built. The Durban High Court ruled last week that it saw no urgency to hear an application by the KwaZulu Natal government to have the land expropriated and enable an immediate start to building plans. Acsa, which owns the land, opposed the issue after the KZN government issued a notice in the provincial gazette stating its intention to expropriate the land. The provincial government wants to develop the site to build the new airport as part of a new industrial development zone. The Durban High Court has postponed the case until May 24. But this hasn’t satisfied KwaZulu Natal public works MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu, who claims the high court does not have the jurisdiction to rule on the matter. Only the Constitutional Court can decide on disputes between two organs of the state, he says. “We will pursue the matter with speed and vigour once the elections are over,” he said, indicating that it could end in the Constitutional Court.