Not-yet-approved capital expenditure of R300-million will be spent on sprucing up OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), says ORTIA GM Tebogo Mekgoe.

He says the money will largely go towards refurbishments and maintenance work, as well as procuring additional X-ray processing capacity.

Mekgoe also expects 2013 passenger numbers to remain flat at what Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) describes as “Africa’s biggest and busiest airport”.

Passenger numbers last year reached around 18-million, with the peak set in 2007 at just over 19-million. ORTIA handled around six-million passengers in 1993.

Mekgoe attributes the lack of growth to tough economic circumstances. He adds that airlines’ schedules indicate that they too expect zero growth for 2013.

He does not ascribe the stagnant growth to the surge in the number of passengers moving through Lanseria Airport, to the west of Johannesburg, although he also acknowledges that the airport, which is being redeveloped and expanded, is luring traffic away from ORTIA in the short term.

“We get the same questions about Nairobi. Lanseria is not a particular worry to us.”

Mekgoe notes that increasing air traffic in South Africa serves as an indication of economic growth, which benefits everyone in the aviation industry.

Something new passengers at ORTIA could look forward to in 2013 would be the launch of an app that will provide a range of information on the airport, from flight schedules to retail opportunities and car rental options.

Mekgoe says Acsa is looking at developing this app across all its airports.

On-time departures at ORTIA are also expected to increase in 2013, improving from 75% in 2009 to 88% at the beginning of this year.

Mekgoe says the remaining 12% is largely related to planes leaving their destinations late – causing rotational delays – inclement weather and technical faults.

In the longer term, Acsa is still mulling the development of a new midfield terminal between ORTIA’s two existing runways, as well as expanding its property offering by adding several new buildings around its terminals. A new road will then also need to split from the R24 to enter this new property precinct.

The land targeted for this development, still in the concept phase, belongs to South African Airways, the South African National Roads Agency Limited and Acsa.

By adding the midfield terminal to ORTIA, the airport can expand its capacity by 40-million passengers a year.