January 11, 2005

By Audrey D' Angelo

Cape Town - Work is about to start on a five-storey, R100 million parkade at Cape Town International Airport that will provide an additional 1 900 parking bays.

The development follows a R250 million upgrade of the international arrivals and departures terminals and a R10 million improvement of the domestic terminal.

The airport handled over 5 million passengers for the first time in the last financial year and a spokesperson said it was on track to reach the 6 million mark in March.

But this growth has led to a shortage of parking that has been exacerbated by an increase in passenger numbers, due partly to the arrival of 19 more international flights a week and a growing number of domestic flights by low-cost carriers kulula.com and 1Time.

Arrival and departure figures for December were not yet available yesterday, but Deidre Hendricks, acting senior information officer at the airport, said international arrivals for November were 16.97 percent higher than the same period in 2003 and the airport was "experiencing its best summer season to date".

"As visitors continue to stream to the region, this record passenger growth has resulted in some strain on airport infrastructure, particularly parking.

"Recognising this, Airports Company SA (Acsa) has put plans in place to develop a multistorey parkade, a much-needed facility that will lessen the current parking strain," Hendricks said.

The parkade was expected to meet projected demand for the next five years.

It would come into use next year, giving the airport a total of 5 000 bays.

In the meantime, however, passengers would have to park "relatively far" from the terminal buildings.

To overcome the inconvenience, two shuttle routes would collect and drop off airport visitors at fixed points.

An additional 560 public parking bays had been provided by moving the Acsa staff and airline parking area.

George Uriesi, the new airport manager, said he was "excited to have the opportunity to lead Cape Town International Airport - South Africa's tourism gateway - at a time when the region is experiencing significant tourism growth".