Cape Town’s new airport awaits approval to proceed

Cape Town’s new Cape Winelands Airport awaits the outcome of its final Environmental Application Report, or Environmental Impact Report (EIR), submitted in May.

The decision will determine whether the ambitious plan to build Cape Town’s own “Lanseria International Airport” moves forward.

According to IOL, Deon Cloete, Managing Director of Cape Winelands Airport, recently provided an update on the development of the city’s second airport.

Cape Winelands Airport awaits decision on Environmental Approval

Cloete explained that planning for the project has been underway for half a decade. The submission of the EIR in May was a milestone, completed by an environmental practitioner who oversees the application.

“That submission has gone in, and after your submission, the competent authority has a timeline in which they have to make a decision, which is either ‘yes, this project can proceed’ or ‘no, this project can’t proceed’,” Cloete said, as per IOL.

“We hope that decision will be coming through, approximately at the end of next month (October). That decision is a very important one, where we hope to get the green light for this project.” he added.

A multi-billion rand investment

Cloete also revealed that the Cape Winelands Airport team has already met with several funders, with the initial construction expected to cost between R8 billion and R10 billion.

“Airports are expensive because you put a lot of investment into the ground, but once you get it there, it will work for you for many years. It is about creating it.” he said.

If approvals and funding align, construction of the new Cape Town airport would take around two years, with Cloete adding that they are probably looking at a 2028 opening.