Growthpoint Properties has made an initial R8 billion investment in the new Cape Winelands Airport precinct with the right to co-invest and develop the precinct, marking the start of a partnership to deliver the aviation, hospitality and industrial hub.
The airport is expected to sustain approximately 35 000 direct and indirect jobs and could sustain just over 100 000 direct and indirect jobs during its initial 20 years of operation. The initial R8bn investment will deliver the terminal buildings, runway and a 450-hectare developable estate.
The privately owned airport, to be developed on the site of the airfield previously known as Fisantekraal, is designed to strengthen the region’s logistics, trade and tourism infrastructure.
Growthpoint, which co-owns Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront and holds group property assets to the value of R155.8 billion, brings its experience in large-scale, mixed-use and tourism-led precincts to the development.
Under the development agreement, Growthpoint will assume long-term property and asset management responsibilities across the precinct’s logistics, commercial and hospitality components. This excludes the terminal buildings but includes right of first refusal to co-invest in future property developments.
It will also oversee the development’s main contractor to ensure institutional standards in transparent governance, financial discipline, positive environmental and social impact integration, and development delivery.
Nicholas Ferguson, Managing Director of RSA Aero, the company that owns and operates Cape Winelands Airport, said the partnership represented a step-change for the airport.
“Growthpoint’s partnership provides the institutional foundation and delivery capacity needed to build an airport precinct of global quality that will serve the region for generations to come.”
The Cape Winelands Airport team will lead aviation strategy and master planning of the international aviation hub while Growthpoint contributes institutional capital, property expertise and sustainability leadership. They aim to develop a commercially driven world-class airport precinct that strengthens regional trade and tourism connectivity while exemplifying sustainability.
Growthpoint Properties Group CEO, Norbert Sasse, said the partners had set in motion a catalyst for long-term value creation and a legacy asset for the province.
“We are pleased to take part in this opportunity and to contribute to Cape Town’s and South Africa’s sustainable growth.”
Growthpoint Properties’ Head of Corporate Advisory, Werner van Antwerpen, said tourism and foreign direct investment were powerful economic multipliers that went hand in hand.
“When tourism infrastructure works sustainably and at scale, jobs follow, cities thrive and communities benefit.”
Cape Winelands Airport aims to be the greenest airport in the world, embedding sustainability at every phase of development. It will function largely with renewable energy and be supported by water reuse systems, driving a carbon-neutral agenda. Growthpoint’s established environmental, social and governance leadership will guide the project’s sustainability framework.
“Our commitment to Cape Winelands Airport aligns with Growthpoint’s purpose of creating space to thrive. The project is centred around aviation, but it’s also about unlocking inclusive growth, enabling enterprise and setting new standards for sustainable development,” said Sasse.
Pending Environmental Impact Assessment approvals, construction of Cape Winelands Airport could begin early next year. The development will proceed in phases, starting with runway and safety infrastructure, followed by the terminal, cargo and industrial precincts.
On this timeline, the airport is targeted for commissioning by 2028, with capacity for more than five million passengers annually by 2050. The full roll-out will unfold over more than two decades, in step with the region’s evolving growth and infrastructure needs.
Once operational, Cape Winelands Airport will serve as a second major aviation gateway for the province, easing pressure on existing infrastructure, reducing costs and carbon emissions for operators and welcoming local and international tourists to the Cape’s renowned winelands.
The new airport will also become a new hub for business, hospitality and tourism. It will anchor new investment along the Cape Winelands corridor and support Cape Town’s natural expansion northwards – its only viable growth route – with infrastructure necessary for the success of the city’s next chapter.
“This partnership ensures the Cape Winelands Airport precinct is backed by South Africa’s most credible property investor. Together with Growthpoint, we’re not just building an airport – we’re building a long-term platform for investment, innovation and opportunity in the Western Cape,” said Ferguson.
