GEORGE NEWS - Huge expansion plans are on the cards for George Airport that will not only benefit the city but the whole Garden Route region. Not many details are known at this stage, but Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga gave an indication of what is coming when she addressed the media last week on the state of the aviation sector.
She said over the next two years, the Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) plans to embark on crucial capacity expansion projects at Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport (Gqeberha) and George Airport, focusing on expansion of their terminal facilities.
According to her, the terminal expansion project at George Airport is set to commence at the earliest opportunity due to the airport passenger throughput having passed its design capacity pre Covid-19.
A spokesperson for Acsa told George Herald on Tuesday 12 March that a statement will be released tomorrow, Friday 15 March.
Stakeholders in the meantime welcomed the latest developments.
George Mayor Leon van Wyk said the George Municipality is aware of the new plans. He said the airport is of utmost importance for a number of reasons.
They include:
Tourism as the airport gives people access to the Garden Route.
It is also important from a business productivity perspective.
There are many residents of the Garden Route that have business interests elsewhere in the country. Many of their families live in George and the Garden Route. They are the main breadwinners that commute on a weekly basis, in some cases even internationally.
Van Wyk said the expansion project will enhance the current passenger traffic from 900 000 per year to two million per year in the next five years. The departure and arrival halls will be expanded as well as the parking area.
Dr. Dennis Farrell, community leader and a former chairperson of the George Business Chamber, said it is long overdue as this initiative has been around from 2018, at the time that he was chairperson of the Chamber. The Chamber played an influential role in giving guidance and steering the project to fruition.
The Chamber engaged with various business sectors across the Garden Route and provided data and information to Acsa and role players in the Garden Route district in regard to support and requirements for the upgrading of the airport.
A major concern has been the road infrastructure around the airport as well as adequate cooling storing facilities for the export of fruit.
Another aspect is international status for the George Airport.
George Business Chamber was at the forefront in assisting the then minister of finance in the Western Cape, David Maynier, to have the airport open during the Covid period as well as to ensure early and late flights.
Dr. Willie Cilliers, current chairperson of the George Business Chamber, said that the expansions will benefit the business owners that commute between George and Johannesburg, help tourism, improve the parking situation at the airport and increase passenger capacity. It must be kept in mind that the airport is an important gateway to the Garden Route.
Dr. Mimmy Gondwe, MP and DA Constituency Head for George, in a statement said the party in George looks forward to the tourist and business economy of the Garden Route District reaping the benefits of these expansion plans to the George Airport terminal.
The DA with the help of die VF Plus and ACDP form the ruling majority in the municipal council.
George Airport, which is at the heart and core of the Western Cape's Garden Route District tourist economy, is set to benefit from this airport infrastructure investment that has been described as "the largest capital investment by Acsa since preparing for the 2010 Soccer World Cup".
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