February 26, 2004
By Margie Inggs and Samantha Enslin
Durban - The planned King Shaka International Airport at La Mercy would be a disaster for Durban and could destroy the city's economic growth, Chris Saunders, the former chairman of the Tongaat-Hulett Group, warned yesterday.
Saunders, who is a member of the Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal council, said 300 000 to 400 000 jobs could be lost through the airport's impact on tourism along the popular north coast corridor, and the industrial jobs that would not be created if the airport went ahead.
"There is nowhere other than La Mercy to create jobs for people living in the area," he said. The airport has the support of both the provincial and national governments, which see the venture as a huge opportunity for job creation.
Rohan Persad, the chief executive of Dube Tradeport, said the view that an international airport at La Mercy would be an economic disaster was "absolute nonsense".
Preliminary studies had shown noise pollution would only affect Mount Moreland - a retirement village of about the 200 people. "The rest of the area is likely to see an increase in tourism as a result of the increased air traffic," he said.
"Property values in the area will increase by between 30 percent and 40 percent and, if anything, tourism will be boosted," Persad said.
Saunders recommended industrialising the area instead of building an international airport, which he claimed was unnecessary. In other developed countries, passengers landed at a central airport and commuted to feeder airports, he said.
Gordon Hibbert, the managing director of Moreland, said people around the world wanted the convenience of direct flights.
The noise from planes flying over residential areas would not be intrusive as they would be too high, he said.
Saunders said KwaZulu-Natal needed another good feeder airport at Richards Bay to support the port - not an international airport that would never be able to compete with Johannesburg International Airport.
He cautioned Moreland, which made a record breaking 350 percent increase in operating profit to R92 million for the year to December, to do its homework "even more diligently" this year before bidding for the airport.
Hibbert said the airport was not Moreland's call; it was a government project and the company would work within the circumstances. "Moreland's plans for the northern corridor will go ahead with or without La Mercy," he said.
Publisher: Business Report
Source: Business Report
