A funding model for airport development remains unresolved as the Department of Transport considers how to coordinate investment across South Africa’s airport network.
The department was exploring partnerships between government and the private sector to help fund development, its director of air transport policy, Elizabeth Mpye, told Parliament’s Select Committee on Public Infrastructure on October 6.
The discussion formed part of a briefing on the strategic direction of the National Airport Development Plan (NADP), which is intended to coordinate airport planning across government and align infrastructure investment with broader transport and economic objectives.
The plan identifies funding and resource constraints at provincially and municipally owned airports, raising questions about their economic and social contributions and the sustainability of continued public investment.
“Provinces and municipalities face competing budget priorities,” Mpye said. “Airport development often has to compete with other infrastructure needs such as roads and housing.”
Committee members questioned how the department would determine whether individual airports justified public investment and how their contributions to employment, exports and regional economic development would be measured.
The department is also working to strengthen coordination between national, provincial and local government and improve the information available to guide airport planning and investment decisions.
“Public comments on the NADP are being incorporated and consultation across the airport network will follow before the plan will be submitted for final approval,” Mpye said.
