Name of the Project
Cape Winelands Airport.

Location
The project is located 13 km north-east of Durbanville, on the northern outskirts of Cape Town, in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Cape Winelands Airport is owned and operated by RSA Aero.

Growthpoint Properties has taken an equity position in the airport and is the project’s development and managing partner for the wider aviation precinct. Its role covers property and asset management across the logistics, commercial and hospitality components of the precinct, excluding the terminal buildings.

Project Description
The project entails the development of a privately owned commercial airport on the site of the former Fisantekraal Airfield, which was established in 1943 as a South African Air Force base for Lockheed Ventura bombers. The airfield is operating as a general aviation facility and flight training base.

Cape Winelands Airport is planned as Cape Town’s second major airport and is intended to support scheduled domestic and international passenger and cargo operations, general aviation, alternate and reliever airport functions, logistics activity and related commercial-property development.

It will accommodate two-million international tourists and three-million domestic travellers a year by 2050, taking overall passenger traffic to the region from 10-million to 20-million passengers a year.

Construction work will include the construction of a large-scale terminal, extended and realigned runway infrastructure, upgraded airside systems, enhanced cargo and logistics operations, as well as a modernised general aviation precinct.

The airport has four runways, one of which will be realigned and extended to a Code 4F (1 800-m-long or more) runway built to a new orientation capable of accommodating wide-body aircraft.  A secondary runway, 700 m long, will primarily focus on small planes in crosswind conditions.

The airport will include the construction of a boutique terminal building, including state-of-the-art processing facilities; a cargo processing facility; additional hangars; and fuelling facilities.

Other planned infrastructure comprises hotel accommodation, a 450 ha estate around the airport and a heliport, as well as warehousing and logistics facilities. 

Potential Job Creation
The development is expected to create thousands of jobs during and after construction.

Capital Expenditure
The project is expected to require an initial investment of between R8-billion and R10-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
Subject to the conclusion of the outstanding approval processes, the first phase of construction, comprising enablement works, is expected to start in the last quarter of 2026. Commissioning of the airport is targeted for the latter part of 2028.

Latest Developments
Cape Winelands Airport received environmental authorisation from the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning on October 27, 2025. Six appeals have been lodged against the decision, and the project is awaiting a final determination by the Minister. Cape Winelands Airport has indicated that no construction-related activities will start until appeals against the environmental authorisation have been finalised.

Boogertman + Partners has been appointed lead architect and will work with amd.sigma, a Berlin-based airport development company and wholly owned subsidiary of Munich Airport International, on the airport’s architectural vision and design integration.

WBHO has been appointed to take responsibility for the technical development and construction of the airport complex, while Growthpoint Properties will oversee delivery and manage the logistics, commercial and hospitality components of the wider precinct over the long term.

The airport submitted its international licence application in the latter part of 2024 and is still awaiting feedback from national government. Cape Winelands Airport has indicated that the decision will have a direct bearing on its build programme.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Growthpoint Properties (development and managing partner for the wider aviation precinct); WBHO (technical development and construction); Boogertman + Partners (lead architect); amd.sigma (airport development company and design-integration partner); and PACE Aerospace Engineering & IT GmbH (fuel-planning assessment).

Contact Details for Project Information
Cape Winelands Airport, tel +27 21 271 0501 or email info@capewinelands.aero.