New airport just the ticket for Cape Town ‘megacity’

Cape Town’s second international airport is another big step closer to reality with the project Environmental Authorisation application now submitted to government. 

This and other updates featured prominently at a well-attended Chamber Chapter meeting last week at the Groot Phesantekraal Wine Estate in Durbanville. 

Hosted jointly by the Cape Chamber’s Winelands, Cape Coast and Tygerberg  Chapters, guests heard input from multiple airport stakeholders, notably winelands airport managing director Deon Cloete who shared a detailed project presentation.

The project EA was submitted earlier this month, with a final decision anticipated later this year, Cloete said.  

“We’ve been working for five years, last week we made the final submission for EA,” Cloete confirmed. 

The project is led by RSA.aero, a consortium of former aviation experts which also recently acquired the Gariep airport.  Cloete said the consortium has a “vision of extending the network of airports over time.” 

He said the Cape Winelands airport project now had a finance team in place to assess investment and loan finance proposals. If the projecg goes ahead the company’s ambition is to handle more than five million passengers a year by 2050. 

Other event speakers highlighted the vital function the airport may fulfil to service fast-growing Cape Town, which will breach the definition of ‘megacity’ with over ten million residents by 2050 according to current projections.

“Things can accelerate quite fast – we've got to manage that growth,”  said Jeremy Wiley,  management committee member of the Western Cape Property Development Forum.

“That is why our city fathers or managers need to make sure that they are looking well ahead. The mayor and councillors are very aware of challenges that lie ahead both for infrastructure development and making sure there are opportunities that will help to reduce the unemployment levels we are currently experiencing --which are much lower than rest of the country,” Wiley said.  

City of Cape Town urban mobility committee chairperson Mikhail Manuel said the Cape Winelands airport was a catalyst for growth within the Joostenberg area.  “It presents incredible business opportunities for the city. Also the entire Joostenberg area is on the cusp of exploding  within five to ten years.” 

“On the whole the city is exceptionally excited about this,” Manuel said.