THE City of Cape Town supports and will closely monitor the upgrading of Cape Town International Airport as the Airports Company of SA (ACSA) moves on to the second phase of its development proposals.
ACSA is preparing to spend R2 billion on upgrading and improving the airport - South Africa's second biggest with 4,65 million passengers in 2000 - to include a second runway that meets long term growth and development forecasts.
Three runway options are under consideration but the favoured option at this stage is an 'Open V' plan, where the two runways are far apart and not quite parallel.
Investigations into the option of building a second airport have concluded that this option is costly but this will remain a long-term option.
A second runway is considered essential when passenger traffic reaches 12 million per annum in about 2015, but advanced planning is necessary to acquire land and put in place environmental, traffic, noise and safety measures.
Councillor Brian Watkyns, Executive Councillor for Planning and the Environment, says noise factors are also taken seriously at other international airports, including Geneva, where buildings are prohibited within a certain radius of the airport.
'One of the reasons that the Open V runway option is preferred at this stage is that it has the least noise impact,' he said. 'But we will have to balance the noise issue with the city's responsibility to promote economic development and tourism.
'It is very important that any development plan makes it possible for the economic potential of the land at the airport to be unlocked for the benefit of surrounding communities and the Western Cape economy as a whole.'
However, the Council says it will only consider a final recommendation by ACSA once a permanent noise monitoring and flight tracking system is in place at the airport. The Council has also asked for a report on the possibility of the City declaring a 'controlled area' where exposure to aircraft noise exceeds a certain level.
Early next year an extensive public participation process will commence in order to address community concerns about the expansion. People living in the area have already expressed concerns about economic opportunities, safety, noise and community involvement in the expansion of the airport.
After noting the contents of a recent report prepared by ACSA, the City of Cape Town Council has agreed to support the second stage of the investigation, which will deal with all the proposals in more detail and include the public participation process.
Publisher: Cape Business News
Source: Cape Business News
THE City of Cape Town supports and will closely monitor the upgrading of Cape Town International Airport as the Airports Company of SA (ACSA) moves on to the second phase of its development proposals.
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