The Grinaker-LTA-led Indiza construction consortium, which failed in a bid for the tender to construct the King Shaka International Airport north of Durban, will test its objections to the tender process in court.

Aveng CEO Carl Grim said on Tuesday the group felt "compelled to go the legal route", even though it was aware that the faster the airport was completed, the better it would be for the country. The matter would be heard in the Pietermaritzburg High Court towards the end of the month, he said.

"Due process was not followed," Grim said, citing lack of discussion of the Indiza bid as an example of a contravention of processes. The preferred bidder was the Ilembe consortium, led by Group Five.

The airport will cost about R2,5 billion and is expected to be completed in 2009.

Grim said Indiza had also written to Transport Minister Jeff Radebe to ask him to intervene in the process. The preferred bidder was announced by the Dube Tradeport company last month.

The airport will be built, operated and paid for by the Airports Company SA (Acsa), while Dube Tradeport will develop a trade and agricultural- processing zone nearby.

A Dube Tradeport spokesman said they were confident the award had been made properly.

Meanwhile, two people closely associated with the environmental impact assessment (EIA) said on Tuesday additional specialist studies were near completion for the EIA of the airport, and a further round of public meetings was scheduled for the end of the month.

The scoping study for the airport published last year warned about possible environmental effects such as noise and the degradation of habitats of some animals in the area, such as blue duikers and barn swallows.
 
Business Day