• Cape Winelands Airport secures $460M backing from Growthpoint

• Project targets tourism, regional air traffic boost by 2050

The planned Cape Winelands Airport in South Africa has secured 8 billion rand ($460 million) in initial funding from Growthpoint Properties, the country’s largest real estate investment trust (REIT). The project aims to create an integrated industrial and airport hub, complete with hotel facilities, to strengthen connectivity across the Western Cape province.

Under the project, a private airport will be developed in multiple phases on the site of the former Fisantekraal airfield. The airport is expected to handle more than 5 million passengers annually by 2050. Construction is set to start in early 2026, but only if the project passes the environmental review and the government signs off on it.

Once operational, the complex is expected to bolster South Africa’s growing tourism sector by taking pressure off OR Tambo (Johannesburg) and Cape Town International airports, which together handle more than 70% of the country’s total annual traffic. The government aims to raise international tourist arrivals to 21 million by 2030.

The project is part of South Africa’s wider goal to maintain its leadership in African civil aviation. The country faces rising competition from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Angola, which are implementing major investment programs to expand their own aviation infrastructure.

Henoc Dossa