Khulu Phasiwe

Public Policy Correspondent

BLACK economic empowerment companies stand to benefit from Airports Company SA’s (Acsa’s) R5,2bn capital expenditure programme as the airports operator expands and builds new facilities ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the company said in its annual report, released this week.

Acsa estimates that about 350000 foreigners will arrive during the event itself, 60% of them from other parts of Africa.

The parastatal, which handles 13,3-million passengers a year, estimates that this figure will rise to 40-million a year by 2010.

Acsa said in the report that it would procure 50% of its infrastructure requirements from empowerment companies.

The company said it had procured 51% of consultancy services and 45% of goods, amounting to R275m, from black-owned companies in the 2004-05 financial year.

Acsa MD Monhla Hlahla said this week that the planned infrastructure development programme would create 18000 temporary and 1800 permanent jobs within the construction industry.

The planned projects include the construction of a R1,6bn terminal building at Johannesburg International Airport.

The terminal will also house a train station for the proposed Gautrain Rapid Rail Link.

Other major developments include extending the apron and the runway of the Durban International Airport, at a cost of R75m.

An additional R675m will be spent on building high-volume parking areas at the Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban airports.

Acsa said it had had "success stories" with empowerment companies that had been given contracts.

The airport operator has appointed three consulting teams with "substantial" empowerment participation to assist in the planning and construction of new facilities needed to accommodate the 555-seater A380 jumbo jet.

The giant aircraft is expected to start flying to SA from 2008.

The five new aprons for the Cape Town airport built by empowerment companies were indicative of the competence of previously marginalised firms, Acsa said.

"The civil works (for the Cape Town airport) were undertaken by Vusela Construction, a company with 90% empowerment shareholding. The project was successfully completed in time and on budget," Acsa said.

Vusela recently tendered to build storm-water drainage and ducting along the main runway at Cape Town airport.