Western Cape Business 2018 edition

INTERVIEW
more. That is a practical reality and it speaks to the
constraints that we have.
And future plans?
We have launched a five-year development plan.
We are committed to a R5- to R7-billion capital plan
which includes runway and terminal infrastructure.
The Air Access programme has delivered results
beyond our wildest dreams, so we have to start
reviewing the investment programme.
When do you start building?
We are going through all of the regulatory approvals.
The only one still standing is the runway EIA, which is
in the final stages of an appeal. There was one appeal
relating to noise. We don’t need a longer runway
but we need to realign it to maximise conditions
for take-off and landing. The runway will move 220
metres to the east, and rotate 11.5 degrees. That way
we get the optimum utilisation and we avoid the
Durbanville hills completely.
When do anticipate the building to begin?
In October 2018. If we get all our approvals then
construction could start on the R3.8-billion runway.
What other benefits will the new
runway bring to the airport?
When we design the runway we can accommodate
aircrafts of any design. When we build our aprons,
we mark them for any aircraft. Terminals have a central
search point so we can join them together depending
on the loads – efficiency is a big part of the
game. We put a big focus on our time performance.
We just touch 90% in terms of arriving and departing
on time. There is a rule of thumb that every saving
of 4% in on-time performance, saves the airlines an
aircraft, so that’s quite significant.
WE HAVE LAUNCHED A FIVE-
YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO A
R5- TO R7-BILLION CAPITAL
PLAN WHICH INCLUDES
RUNWAY AND TERMINAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.
31 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2018