Acsa under fire over investment apathy in PE

THE AIRPORTS Company of South Africa (Acsa) has come under fire for its failure to extend the Port Elizabeth international airport runway some ten years after the project was first proposed. Speaking at the official unveiling of a new post-Panamax gantry in the PE harbour recently, Port Elizabeth Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Percci) CEO Odwa Mtati praised Transnet Port Terminals for its investment in the region, and went on to criticise Acsa for its refusal to upgrade the runway. Land was provided by the municipality about ten years ago, and some clearing has been done, but Acsa has consistently refused to invest in the Eastern Cape without guarantees of international traffic – despite lobbying from both business and the travel sector.