Cape Town Airport gets a revamp
Cape Town, South Africa’s airport is getting a massive facelift as a result of the influx of passengers and flights to the city.
It is no surprise that Cape Town’s airport is receiving a massive upgrade. The company was named Africa’s best airport for the third time in a row. According to Cape Town International’s spokesperson Deidre Davids, “On peak days in December, we processed as many as 35 000 to 39 000 passengers.”
As a result, there are three main projects underway. A realigned runway, and new facilities for domestic arrivals and in the international terminal. “The airport will realign the primary runway and construct parallel and rapid exit taxiways. The realigned primary runway will be 3500m in length and be built to international specifications,” said Davids. The runway alone, due to begin construction in 2019, will cost R3.8bn. Larger aircrafts with a wingspan of 65m or more, such as the Airbus A-380. will have access to the airport through this upgrade. Davids expects that this will bring a 50% increase in aircraft landing and departures. The domestic arrivals project will cost R650m and is expected to be completed by 2021. “The highlight of this project will be the express route available to passengers who do not need to collect their bags. The size of the baggage hall will also increase,” says Davids. The international arrivals project will cost R1bn, expected to be completed in 2021. “The project includes the expansion of the check-in area, the addition of two international specification baggage carousels and the reconfiguration of security, customs, passport control and international arrivals’ meeters and greeters,” she said. “There are also other projects in the pipeline that will bring the total to R7bn.”
it is predicted that the projects will take 18-24 months to complete. These projects both encourage access to South Africa and the Western Cape, and “will enable growth of passenger and cargo traffic that is essential for tourism and economic activity,” according to Davids.
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[Source: iol ]
