IT’S ALL systems go for the building of the new international airport and trade port at La Mercy, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said last Friday at the sod-turning ceremony Construction of the facility began on August 24 following the announcement of a Record of Decision by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. The airport is planned to be fully operational by 2010 and to have the capacity to handle 7.5 million passengers annually with a 3.7km runway that will accommodate longhaul and new generation aircraft such as the A380. Further expansion will enable it to handle a projected 45 million passengers annually by 2060.
