King Shaka International Airport

Infobox Airport
name = King Shaka International Airport (Under Construction)
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type = Public
owner =
operator = Airports Company of South Africa
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location = Durban, South Africa
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metric-rwy =
r1-number = 06/24
r1-length-f = 12,139
r1-length-m = 3,700
r1-surface = Asphalt
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King Shaka International Airport is an airport currently under construction at La Mercy, 30 kilometres north of Durban, South Africa. It will replace the existing Durban International Airport (DIA), which will be decommissioned. It is expected to be operational in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The airport will cost R6.8 billion.cite news|title = New Durban airport waiting for green light|url = http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=124&art_id=vn20070621033502273C826444|publisher=IOL|first=Suren|last=Naidoo|date=2007-06-21]

Characteristics

The airport will feature a single runway, 3700 m long (with the capacity to extend it to 4000 m). This is significantly longer than the 2400 m runway at DIA, and will enable the airport to handle large aircraft such as the Airbus A380. (Durban's existing international airport is the smallest of South Africa's four international airports. The runway is too short to allow a fully-laden Boeing 747 to take off.) The new airport terminal will feature jetways ("see" renders in the External Links section, below), something the current terminal lacks.

The airport will form part of the Dube Tradeport, which will additionally consist of a trade zone (being linked to the airport's air freight component), facilities to support the airport such as nearby offices and transit accommodation for tourists, an integrated agricultural export zone and an IT platform.cite web|title = Dube Tradeport website|url = http://www.dubetradeport.co.za]

Once the King Shaka Airport is complete, the existing DIA will be decommissioned. The site, in a prime industrial area south of the city, will be redeveloped, possibly as a dug-out port serving nearby automotive assembly and components factories. [cite news|title = Toyota eyes Durban airport for growth plan|url = http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/economy.aspx?ID=BD4A383859|publisher=Business Day|first=Edward|last=West|date=2007-02-13]

History and construction

Earthworks for King Shaka International Airport at La Mercy commenced in the early 1970s before the project was halted in 1982 due to the economic slowdown at the time. The project was revived in 1994, but disputes between the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and the Dube Tradeport firm (which is backed by the KwaZulu-Natal provinical government) stalled the project until national transport minister Jeff Radebe intervened to jumpstart the project in 2004. [cite news|title = Decisive Radebe ends impasse over R1.6bn Dube Tradeport|url = http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=612&fArticleId=2123537|publisher=Business Report|first=Samantha|last=Enslin|date=2004-06-23]

Although originally expected to open in late 2009, the airport is expected to be completed by April 2010. [cite news|url = http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3045&art_id=vn20071206110430714C910841|title = Early finish for La Mercy airport|publisher=IOL|first=Barbara|last=Cole|date=2007-12-06] There was a delay while the parties were waiting for the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) to approve the project's Evironmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The EIA had to be approved before construction began. It was hoped that if EIA approval was granted by early July 2007, that construction would be complete by March 2010. EIA approval was granted on 23 August 2007, paving the way for construction to begin. Certain conditions are attached including the appointment of an environmental control officer, issues of access from the nearby N2 freeway, and fauna and flora issues; in particular, the impact of construction and airport operations on a nearby colony of barn swallows. [cite news|title = King Shaka airport gets a nod|url = http://travel.iafrica.com/bulletinboard/462125.htm|accessdate = 2007-08-24|publisher=iafrica.com|last=Sapa|date=2007-08-23]

Post-2010, a second expansion phase is scheduled to start, with completion expected around 2012. Future expansion plans have also been proposed for completion around 2035 and 2060, by which time dual runways will operate on either side of the main terminal buildings. [cite web|url = http://www.dubetradeport.co.za/sitePlan.asp|title = Proposed Master Plan of the Dube Tradeport|publisher=Dube Tradeport]

Airlines and destinations

While it is still too early to know what flights will operate out of King Shaka International Airport, it is expected that all flights handled by Durban International Airport will be transferred to King Shaka when it opens, possibly overnight.

The South African Civil Aviation Authority has announced that Durban will serve as the gateway for any additional flights to/from the Far East or Australasia during the 2010 World Cup. [cite web|url = http://www.satsa.co.za/Pages/News_Section_Details.asp?NewsSectionID=26&NewsID=495|title = Minutes of Briefings by: Department of Transport; SATSA & TBCSA]

Access

The airport is 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 north from Durban along the North Coast.

An access road providing direct access to the airport from the N2 will be constructed; it is uncertain if this road will continue to the R102. Traffic on the M4 destined for the airport will have to use the N2, approaching it using either the M27 (if approaching from the south) or the M43 (if approaching from the north); the latter requiring motorists to use the Tongaat Toll Plaza. These two routes also provide users of the R102 with indirect access.

Direct rail access has been provided for in the master plans [cite paper| author = AECOM-McClier| title = Dube Tradeport - Pre-Feasibility Study| date = 2002| url =http://www.dubetradeport.co.za/Documents/Documents/2003Sep17_3/Dube%20TradePort%20-%20Pre-Feasibility%20Study%20-%20AECOM-McClier%20-%202002.pdf| format = PDF| accessdate = 2008-10-09 ] , but will not form part of the first phase of construction.

References

External links

* [http://www.turnerandtownsend.com/images-news-large/King%20Shaka%20view002.jpgRender of proposed terminal from landside]
* [http://www.wbho.co.za/assets/content_images/Image/news/king-shaka.jpgRender of proposed terminal from airside]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&ie=UTF8&ll=-29.615028,31.114311&spn=0.0782,0.159645&z=13 Aerial photograph of the airport site on Google Maps]