South Africa’s Cape Town International
Airport is
set to receive US $516m makeover with a new runway, and new international
and domestic departure lounges.
Airports Company South Africa
(Acsa) spokesperson
Deidre Davids said the expansion is necessary to meet growing demand at the
airport. The project will see construction of a new international terminal and
new international and domestic departure lounges, in addition to the runway
realignment.
The realigned 3,500-m runway will allow larger
aircraft – such as the world’s largest passenger airline, the Airbus A380, to
land at the airport. The baggage hall will be designed to swell significantly
to accommodate additional baggage collection carousels, and the meet-and-greet
area will be reconfigured.
This part of the project, approximated to cost
about US $287m also enables a future expansion of the airport terminal towards
the runway, to accommodate additional aircraft. The overhaul will take
approximately 4 years and is due for completion by the end of 2023.
Deidre Davids however pointed out that while some
changes and discomfort might be unavoidable, precautions will be put in place
to minimise passenger inconvenience and ensure that flights can still depart
and land as construction proceeds.
“While we will do our best to limit the disruption
and impact on passengers we ask in advance that airport users bear with us –
any discomfort experienced will be well worth it,” said Davids.
Last year the Western Cape government’s Air Access project, in collaboration with the City of Cape Town and Acsa, saw three new airlines add flights to and from Cape Town, while the airlines already using the airport expanded their offering. This has resulted in direct flights to four more destinations.https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/02/cape-town-international-airport-to-receive-us-516m-revamp/
