King Shaka International Airport, Durban, South Africa

The South African government has decided to build a new international airport in the eastern port city of Durban before the country hosts the 2010 football World Cup (Durban being one of ten venues being used to host the tournament).

The government plans to spend at least $860m (R6bn) on investments in Durban in preparation for the football World Cup. Projects will include a new 85,000-seat stadium (King Senzangakhona Stadium - R2bn), a new airport (King Shaka) and trade port (Dube), a new tram system in downtown Durban, and upgrades to harbours, roads, railways and beaches.

New King Shaka Airport decision

Jeff Radebe, the South African Transport Minister announced that the airport at La Mercy, 30km north of the coastal resort city, will be operational, and the old Durban International Airport (DIA) decommissioned by the first quarter of 2010. Durban's existing international airport south of the city is the smallest of South Africa's three international airports and the runway is too short to allow a fully laden Boeing 747 to take off.

The key date in the process is that all construction shall be completed by December 2009. The airport will then be commissioned by the first quarter of 2010, well in time for the World Cup.

The new airport will be called King Shaka International Airport (KSIA) after the famous Zulu warrior king. Durban, which is South Africa's third largest city, is in the heart of the Zulu lands.

Studies have shown the existing Durban international airport terminal is too small to handle the growing tourist and commercial trade through Durban, South Africa's busiest port. Passenger growth at DIA has doubled since 2005 from two million to four million passengers a year.

Land dispute

The land dispute between Airports Company of South Africa SA (ACSA) and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has been resolved, paving the way for construction of the new of the new R6.8bn airport for Durban at La Mercy.

Dube Tradeport, the company established by the province to manage the new industrial development zone announced that construction of the new airport would begin in the second half of 2007. Dube Tradeport has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the national transport department and the provincial government in regards to the cargo terminal portion of the project.

The ACSA has also committed to selling its 206,899ha of land to the provincial government, and then managing the new airport for the first 10 years of its life (with an option to buy if required).

The development will be carried out by Airports Company of South Africa, a state-owned enterprise that runs airports throughout the country.

KwaZulu-Natal Finance and Economic Development MEC, Zweli Mkhize, has told the Board of Airline Representatives of SA, a body that represents all major airlines operating in SA, that four bidders had been shortlisted for the construction of the airport.

New airport apathy

There have been doubts about the new airport at La Mercy and there have been strong suggestions that international airlines are still likely to prefer to fly into Johannesburg and reroute their Durban-destined passengers on existing domestic flights. The ACSA is working towards the project having no negative impact on Johannesburg's airport, which handles the bulk of the country's international flights.

ACSA is also working on a plan to encourage international airlines to fly into the new airport, which will have longer runways and more modern facilities. It will also be integrated with the 35-acre Dube trade port and agricultural shipping zone that is being developed at a nearby site.

This will offer a cargo terminal, an integrated logistics platform, an agricultural export zone, manufacturing space, and opportunities for property development such as hotel, retail and conferencing space.

Johannesburg competition

Because of the altitude of Johannesburg Airport long-distance aircraft departing there usually require subsequent stopovers, owing to the reduced fuel load in order to reach the take-off velocity on the length of runway given. So airline operators might find more convenience in using the new Durban airport as well as saving on fuel costs.

It has been argued that politics and business have vested interests in keeping international air traffic in Johannesburg, regardless of the massive fuel savings to be had by international fights taking off from sea level and at a position far better suited to be a major distribution hub than Johannesburg.

King Shaka details

The King Shaka International Airport will be an integrated passenger and freight airport without the operational and logistic constraints associated with the old Durban International Airport.

The passenger terminal will initially have 18 passenger aircraft stands and a size of 19,500m², which is expected to cater for both domestic and international travel (six million a year). The initial capacity will allow for 7.5 million passengers a year with opportunities for significant expansion, should it be required (figures are projected at 45 million passengers by 2060).

The runway will be 3,700m long to accommodate the latest New-Generation Large Aircraft (NGLA) including the A380 Airbus, with the space to expand to 4,000m if needed. The passenger terminal will have greatly expanded retail concession opportunities.

Facilities for police, military, VIP, general aviation and aircraft maintenance operations will also be provided.

Contractors

The construction contract for the new airport was awarded to the Ilembe Consortium in December 2006. The consortium is headed by Group Five, Mvelaphanda Holdings and WBHO Construction (supported by the construction and management consultant Turner and Townsend).

The $938m contract was signed in June 2007 for the design and construction of the airport and the ground breaking ceremony occurred in September 2007 following a favourable environmental impact assessment.

The airport will be located in close proximity to the main N2 freeway, and two main roads (the R102 and M4), as well as the main railway line heading up the Natal North Coast from Durban. A link road between the airport and the N2 will be constructed.

The losing bidders (Aveng Africa and 12 other companies) in the contract to build the new airport did seek an injunction to set the decision to award the contract aside and seek a review because the Indiza consortium was unfairly disqualified as a bidder. There was a delay in the construction but the matter is now settled and the timeline of 2010 still seems to be achievable.

Current King Shaka progress

In Mid-2008 there were 2,100 contractors and subcontractors on site along with 200 earth-moving machines.

The earthworks consisting of the movement and preparation of 5.8 million cubic metres of earth is now coming to an end and building work has started in earnest.

The terminal floor area will be 103,000m² and the runway and taxiways will cover 400,000² and require 230,000t of asphalt. The terminal building will require 4,700t of structural steel and is currently (June 2008) taking shape. The state of progress in June 2008 showed:

• Piling work was completed on the northern elevated roadway ramp
• The terminal building basement retaining walls had completed construction
• Concrete slab had been poured for the construction of the terminal building arrivals hall (staging and decking in progress)
• Work had commenced on the construction of the northern ramp of the elevated roadway to serve the departures level
• Casting of concrete for the multi-storey parking commenced including casting of the retaining walls of the cargo building was underway
• Work on the control tower and the lift shaft was in progress
• The design and construction of the cargo building was in progress
• The runways and taxiways were on schedule with the road bed preparation on the shoulders of the taxiways completed
• The Tradezone area was being cut filled with bush clearing in progress