Durban - A decision on the future of Virginia Airport has been taken. It will move to the existing airstrip in Scottburgh as recommended to the eThekwini Municipality.
The operators will be given leases for three years, after which they will be expected to move. The Virginia site will be opened up for development to expand the city’s rates base.
Members of the executive committee, excluding the DA, agreed with the recommendation by consultants Royal Dutch Haskoning DHV on Wednesday, but the matter will now go to the council for rubber stamping.
Presenting the consultants’ findings, the acting deputy city manager for economic development and planning, Musa Mbhele, said several factors had been raised.
These included that the airport was mainly used for recreational, training, medical or rescue and small-scale commercial flights; that training constituted 80% of operations, but volumes were very low; the runway occupancy was about 32% and the airport was “under-utilised” with the aircraft weight limited to a maximum of 12 passengers.
“It was also found that the site (Virginia) had constraints that limited expansion and the upgrading of services and that the airport operated at a loss,” he said.
The study had concluded that Virginia Airport was unviable for general aviation and that there was a need to find an alternative home.
“Under the circumstances, an extension of the lease agreements for a long period was not in the best interest of the municipality,” he said.
The study considered seven alternatives including Dube TradePort, Pietermaritzburg, Scottburgh, Margate, Finningley (a planned development on the South Coast), the Lion Park near Pietermaritzburg and Darnall near Stanger.
Although Dube TradePort was a favourite, the consultants found that general aviation could not be accommodated at the existing airport. This was because any new development had to be included in the master plan of the regulated space.
Mbhele said apart from Scottburgh’s being outside eThekwini, its infrastructure development, land costs and the environmental impact assessment process (still to be done) meant the site was the most viable.
“The relocation of commercial and general aviation from Virginia will open up opportunities to redevelop the site. This will benefit the city in terms of economic development, job creation and broadening the rates base,” he said.
Mbhele confessed there was an “unsolicited proposal” to turn Virginia into a mixed-use multibillion-rand development.
He said the city should not sell the Virginia site, but use it to make the most revenue possible for the people of Durban.
Of the neighbouring Beachwood Golf Course, Mbhele said Durban Country Club was working with the city on plans for the land.
City manager S’bu Sithole said every city was founded on a vision and sometimes this meant taking “unpopular” decisions.
“This is bound to raise emotions, but what we want is for the operators to be on our side and be able to negotiate a win-win situation.
“We don’t want to sell Virginia, but we want to build on our assets and make more money. In February we will have a second report that looks at how we do this,” he said.
Mayor James Nxumalo said the matter had been outstanding for a long time and a second report would deal with the detail.
“We must ensure this process is transparent to allay fears. We must engage with the operators until the last stages,” he said.
IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi said what was important was that the land was going to be developed and would increase the rates base.
However, DA councillor Heinz de Boer said there were many issues to consider. “This has taken too long to come to exco and if we are a caring city, we must recognise that there are a lot of emotions. This needs to be an open process.”
Exco’s pros and cons for move:
Positive
* Fairly close to Durban
* Existing grass landing strip
* Closer to general aviation area
* Existing, but limited, infrastructure
* Existing, but expired, aviation licence
* Process to review existing record of decision shorter than starting afresh
* Land is privately owned
* Very good access to N2
* Adjacent to Scottburgh Mall - possible aero-city development
Negative
* Outside eThekwini
* Infrastructure development costs
* Land costs (valuation done already to manage land speculation)
* EIA process
The Mercury