Cape Town – Cape Town is moving closer to getting a second international airport, with the privately owned Cape Winelands Airport expected to enter construction later this year as part of an investment estimated at between R8 billion and R10 billion.
The project, which is being developed at the former Fisantekraal Airfield about 13km north-east of Durbanville, is designed to complement Cape Town International Airport by providing additional passenger and cargo capacity while creating a new commercial and logistics hub in the city’s northern corridor.
According to Daily Investor, the airport is currently used for general aviation and flight training but is planned to be transformed into a full-scale international commercial airport.
The development includes a 3.5km runway, a new terminal, cargo facilities, additional hangars, upgraded aviation-fuelling infrastructure, warehousing, hotels, a heliport and logistics facilities.
The economic ambitions
The airport’s management said planning work was continuing across airport design, engineering, environmental requirements, road connectivity and commercial development.
“There are many interconnected elements that need to be considered, coordinated and brought together,” the airport said, according to the report.
The project is being positioned as more than an aviation development. Its backers envisage a broader airport city covering about 450 hectares, with logistics, commercial and hospitality developments expected to grow around the aviation hub.
Engineering News reports that the environmental appeals process has now been concluded, clearing an important hurdle for the project. Subject to outstanding regulatory and licensing requirements, construction is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, with commissioning expected in late 2028.
The publication also reports that WBHO remains the appointed contractor, while Growthpoint Properties is responsible for managing the precinct’s logistics, commercial and hospitality components.
The economic ambitions are significant. The project is expected to support about 35,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction, with the figure potentially exceeding 100,000 jobs during its first 20 years of operation, according to IOL.
Ease congestion
The report said in March that the airport had appointed Boogertman + Partners as lead designers, working with Berlin-based airport development specialist amd.sigma. The development is intended to evolve into a broader airport-city precinct, with the airport expected to serve as a catalyst for growth along Cape Town’s northern corridor.
The airport’s plans have also attracted international attention. The project could become Cape Town’s second international airport, with the redevelopment expected to cost between R8 billion and R10 billion and initially targeting operations by 2028.
Cape Winelands Airport director Mark Wilkinson said the second airport would help ease congestion and reduce aviation-related carbon emissions.
“It is going to transform the economic landscape of Cape Town and the Western Cape,” Wilkinson said, according to Daily Investor.
The airport said its vision was to create a new gateway for the Western Cape that would strengthen connectivity while supporting tourism and business.
The project comes as Cape Town prepares for a parallel expansion of its existing aviation infrastructure.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
