CAPE TOWN, – The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) on Thursday welcomed the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan municipality's announcement of plans to relocate the Port Elizabeth Airport to the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
CDC's head of marketing, brand and communications Ayanda Vilakazi said the city’s proposal forms part of its spatial development plans to free up land for human settlements.
“Development of an airport at the Coega SEZ has formed part of the Coega development corporation’s master development plan since inception and plans are at an advanced stage,” Vilakazi said.
The CDC’s plan for the development of an airport at the SEZ was presented to and approved by the City Council last year, with the CDC having since attended to technical aspects of the proposed airport development and completed a pre-feasibility study.
“The CDC is working closely with Trade and Industry department (dti) to submit an application for a full-scale feasibility study into the development of an airport at the SEZ. The submission is due at the end of the current financial year, March next year,” said Sadick Davids, CDC’s project manager for metals.
“The proposed airport has generated much interest from potential investors. The CDC plans to undertake an open process to solicit a request for proposals (RFP) from interested parties,” said Davids.