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RR RUEHBZ RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHDU #0119/01 3571341
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231341Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL DURBAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1533
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON DC
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 0915

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DURBAN 000119 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR AF/S, INR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD EIND EINV EAIR PGOV SF
SUBJECT: DUBE TRADEPORT PROJECT AIMS TO INCREASE KWAZULU-NATAL'S 
INTERNATIONAL STANDING 
 
REF: 08 DURBAN 23 
 
DURBAN 00000119  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
This cable is a collaboration between Consulate General Durban 
and Embassy Pretoria.  It is part of a series of reporting on 
regional transport infrastructure developments. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Post visited Durban's Dube TradePort project 
to receive an update on construction progress and success at 
attracting international investors.  The first phase of the 
project to create a new international airport and trade zone in 
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province is 85 percent complete.  Several 
international carriers have expressed an interest in launching 
service to the new international airport, which is located in 
close proximity to Durban, Richards Bay, and all of KZN, South 
Africa's number one domestic tourism destination.  The tradeport 
aims to increase economic growth through the creation of 
thousands of additional jobs at the traQ port and expected 
tourism and retail offshoots.  The province faces competition 
from other regional tourism destinations such as Mozambique, and 
is not as well promoted internationally as Cape Town.  However, 
this project and other tourism promotion initiatives should help 
KZN leverage expected tourism growth during the 2010 FIFA World 
Cup.  End Summary. 
 
 
DUBE TRADEPORT HOPES TO LEVERAGE PROXIMITY TO SEAPORTS 
 
¶2. (U) Post visited the Dube TradePort project on October 20, to 
receive an update on construction progress and success with 
attracting international investors.  The Dube Tradeport is 
located in close proximity to two of Africa's busiest and 
largest seaports, the Port of Durban and the Port of Richards 
Bay.  It combines a new international airport with an onsite 
trade zone to promote tourism and trade in KZN (reftel), which 
has the second-largest provincial gross domestic product in the 
country.  The current Durban airport provides only limited 
international flights within the Southern Africa region. The 
total project cost is estimated at R6.8 billion ($932 million) 
and the first phase of the project is 85 percent complete.  The 
targeted completion date for the first phase is May 2, 2010. 
 
¶3. (U) The new airport is being built approximately 50 
kilometers northeast of downtown Durban.  (Note: The official 
name of the airport is still being debated, with "King Shaka 
International Airport" cited as the leading choice.  End Note.) 
According to Dube Tradeport officials, the new airport will have 
a few comparative advantages over OR Tambo International Airport 
(ORTIA) in Johannesburg.  ORTIA is currently the busiest airport 
in Africa, but is costly to service due to its high altitude 
(5,500 feet above sea level).  In contrast the new Durban 
airport will be at sea level, requiring less fuel for long-haul 
flights.  Cargo security has historically been a concern at 
ORTIA and international carriers are looking at developing 
alternative hubs. 
 
¶4. (U) Logistics costs to transport high-value international air 
cargo destined for other Southern African countries via the Dube 
Tradeport would also be lower due to its proximity to the Port 
of Durban.  Currently, most high-value/time sensitive products 
destined for the Southern African market (such as pharmaceutical 
products) are transported via air cargo to ORTIA and then 
transported by road to either the Port of Durban for further 
transport via ship or directly to neighboring countries, which 
significantly increases overall delivery time and costs. 
 
¶5. (U) Approximately 800,000 Durban bound/based passengers fly 
via connections at ORTIA per year due to a lack of direct 
international flights from Durban.  According to the Center for 
Development and Enterprise, KZN is already the number one 
domestic tourism market in South Africa and the KZN provincial 
government is beginning to market it more aggressively in 
international settings (reftel).  The new airport will be able 
to accommodate two wide-bodied Airbus A380 aircraft at a time. 
Passenger capacity after the completion of the first phase is 
projected at 7.5 million passengers per year.  Plans also allow 
for further phased expansions to reach the eventual capacity to 
accommodate 45 million passengers per year by 2060. 
 
INTERNATIONAL CARRIERS SHOW INTEREST IN NEW AIRPORT 
 
¶6. (SBU) According to Dube Tradeport officials, an ideal 
commercial aviation strategy for South Africa would direct 
flights from the East to Durban international airport, flights 
from Europe to ORTIA, and flights from Latin America to Cape 
Town International Airport.  They noted that the SAG has started 
to encourage airlines to follow this unofficial strategy. 
Emirates Airlines has already started a daily direct service 
 
DURBAN 00000119  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
between Dubai and Durban, which is already sold out until 
February 2010. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Project organizers are also reaching out to other major 
international carriers with some success.  Dube Tradeport 
officials said four other international carriers have shown 
strong interest thus far.  Jet Airlines would like to launch 
daily direct flights between Chennai, India and Durban.  Jet 
Airlines is currently negotiating a code-share agreement with 
South African Airways to receive approval for this new service. 
British Airways has agreed to launch direct flights also, but 
was waiting for the 2010 FIFA World Cup schedule to be finalized 
in December before announcing flight expansions.  KLM and 
Lufthana have expressed interest because of potential cargo 
business. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Etihad Airlines has also expressed interest, but 
officials noted that there were some competition concerns with 
Emirates, which signed on first.  Project organizers would also 
like to see Delta Airlines extend service to Durban.  Delta 
currently has direct flights from the U.S. to ORTIA and has 
direct seasonal service to Cape Town.  Dube Tradeport officials 
expressed the view that there would be good demand to launch a 
service from Kenya to Durban and asked post to encourage Delta 
Airlines to consider launching a route to Durban via Kenya. 
(Note:  The U.S.-Kenya Open Skies agreement would not permit 
fifth freedom local traffic rights between points in Kenya and 
other points in Africa other than Senegal until April 1, 2011. 
End note.) 
 
CARGO POTENTIAL 
 
¶9.  (U) The Trade Zone will include a cargo processing terminal, 
which will have direct air-side access for the rapid transport 
of time-sensitive products.  It will be capable of managing 
about 100,000 tons of cargo per year with the ability to expand 
capacity to 400,000 tons per year.  Dube Tradeport has appointed 
WFS as the cargo terminal operator and is developing an adjacent 
facility to accommodate most of the current airfreight service 
providers in KwaZulu-Natal.  Officials mentioned they are in 
contact with UPS about cargo service, and at their request post 
also provided contact information for FedEx. 
 
TRADEPORT TO SPUR PROVINCIAL ECONOMIC GROWTH 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Dube Tradeport aims to increase economic growth in 
KZN through the creation of thousands of additional jobs at the 
trade port and expected tourism and retail offshoots. 
Approximately 3,000 employees work at the existing Durban 
airport, and the new airport would require at least 8,000 
employees.  Local low-cost carriers have expressed an interest 
in converting the existing airport into a hub for low-cost 
carriers in Southern Africa.  International hotel chains have 
expressed an interest in developing hotels at the Dube Tradeport 
to serve the new international airport.  Plans for at least two 
hotels are being finalized for phase two of the project. 
 
¶11. (SBU) The SAG also hopes to develop a maintenance and repair 
hub for Africa as a part of the Dube Tradeport project.  Dube 
Tradeport officials said eighty percent of the African market is 
served by Boeing aircraft, yet there is no Boeing maintenance 
facility on the continent.  Dube Tradeport officials have 
identified South African Airways Technical to provide the 
technical expertise required to operate a potential maintenance 
and repair facility and are pursuing the initiative with Boeing. 
 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶12. (U) KwaZulu-Natal Province boasts some of the cleanest and 
well-managed beaches in the Southern African region and has 
attracted international investments to further develop its 
tourism and resort infrastructure (reftel).  The province faces 
competition from other regional destinations such as Mozambique, 
and is not as well promoted internationally as Cape Town. 
Future phases of the Dube Tradeport project may face delays and 
financial constraints as the SAG grapples with a budget deficit. 
 However, the completion of the first phase and other tourism 
promotion initiatives already underway will help expand KZN's 
international tourism base and grow the provincial economy.  The 
tradeport's proximity to existing seaports and the altitude of 
the new airport will provide it with a regional competitive 
advantage.  The project will also receive a boost if it is 
completed on time to leverage tourism growth during the upcoming 
2010 FIFA World Cup. 
DERDERIANJ