How long does it take to design and build an airport?
If you ask an airport operator in Europe, North America or Japan, most will tell you 10 to 20 years. But if you ask the airport operator in South Africa, it claims only three years.
And it is serious. South Africa does not plan to even select a consortium to design and build the new Durban International Airport until early next year. But the Airports Company of South Africa ( ) is committed to opening the airport prior to the 2010 World Cup, which will be staged in South Africa.
To a journalist who has reported on the delays experienced by several new airports including most recently Bangkok, building a new airport in only three years seems impossible. So while attending the Airports Council International (ACI) world annual general assembly this week in Cape Town, I challenged South African transport minister Jeff Radebe and ACSA chief executive Monhla Hlahla by asking them if their schedule for Durban International was really realistic.
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