Upington’s perishable hub plan moves forward

KEVIN MAYHEW A STATUS report on the establishment of an international mainly perishable hub at Upington Airport will be handed over to the Northern Cape government on March 23. This will be followed by the presentation of a feasibility study in Upington on March 28. South African Chamber of Business policy executive, transport and logistics, Wayne Bateman, said that progress on the feasibility study coincided with the submission by Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) to its executive committee of its masterplan for upgrading the airport to accommodate freight. Bateman said the new facility was being actively marketed to gauge support in the run-up to a final go-ahead. Upington wants to position itself as a perishable hub to take pressure off Johannesburg as it believes it is ideally situated for this role. It also intends attracting interest as a hub into sub-Saharan countries for perishables and other airfreight products that are generally routed through Johannesburg. “We also see great possibilities for it in the automobile industry, particularly as there is a lot of prototype vehicle testing in the area,” he said.