March 4, 2005

By Samantha Enslin

Durban - The Dube Tradeport is closer to becoming a reality with the allocation of R100 million by the provincial government, the bulk of which will be used to buy the land for the development from the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa).

The allocation announced yesterday by Zweli Mkhize, the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for finance, in his 2005/06 budget, is the first strong signal that negotiations to acquire the land are close to being finalised.

Mel Clark, the head of the KwaZulu-Natal department of economic development, said the R100 million would be spent on paying Acsa for the land, for the design of a road interchange and the clearance of the site in preparation for construction.

"The big issue that needs to be sorted out is the agreement with Acsa on the land and the decommissioning of the current Durban International Airport,"

Clark said.

The Dube Tradeport, which will include the King Shaka International Airport, will be built at La Mercy, north of Durban.

A delay early last year in resolving the land issue led the then MEC for public works, Mike Mabuyakhulu, to issue a notice to expropriate the land.

A court battle with Acsa over the expropriation was averted after an agreement was reached that the matter would be dealt with after the elections.

Negotiations have been ongoing since last year, but Acsa's 20 percent shareholder, Aeroporti di Roma, has veto rights on the sale of Acsa's assets. This is believed to have contributed to the delay in reaching an agreement.

The delay in resolving the land issue has raised questions about the national government's commitment to the project.

But the Dube Trade Company has proceeded where it could and has appointed master planners to conduct a R10 million technical study. This will include the environmental impact assessment, the technical design of the site and securing regulatory approval.

The allocation to the Dube Tradeport falls within the KwaZulu-Natal's growth fund, which is targeted at projects that can kick-start significant economic growth.

Other projects that have been identified by Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal for funding from the growth fund include a manganese smelter at Newcastle, the revitalisation of the ship repair industry at the Durban port, and a textile factory in Mooi River.