New Durban airport gets official green light

Leonard Neill THE CABINET has approved the controversial plan for the establishment of the proposed R2billion international airport north of Durban. But the scheduled operational date is now in the balance. The KwaZulu Natal provincial government, a central player in the project, wants it to be operational by 2006. But Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa), while finally accepting that the new facility is needed, differs on the timing and told cabinet it would prefer that the airport be built by 2010. The cabinet's decision to support the plan, which was driven largely by Deputy President Jacob Zuma, is an about-turn on the original scepticism shown by national government. The key challenge now facing the proposal Ð with the project to be named King Shaka International Airport Ð is funding. Acsa originally indicated it was not keen to invest since its equity partner, Aeroporti di Roma, was adamant that the company should not take on a big debt burden. But Transport Minister Dullah Omar has stated that Acsa has now expressed support for the project. The company had told cabinet that a new facility was needed, he said, but differed on the timing. Any injection of funds on their part would form a portion of the initially proposed public-private partnership. Omar has also stated that a number of issues still have to be addressed, including the legal, financial and technical details, but the decision to relocate from Durban International Airport to the La Mercy site had now been made. A task team including the ministers of public enterprise, trade and industry, police and defence was being established to thrash out the various details. The airport will be built in the context of government policy on industrial development zones, said Omar. This is based on a proposal from the provincial government that the airport be developed as a multimodal node, encompassing road and rail networks which link up with Durban's port.