Work begins on new Durban airport

September 2007

Work has commenced on a new airport in Durban as South Africa prepares itself for the 2010 World Cup and the influx of tourists that will come with it.

Transport minister Jeff Radebe said the new hub will have the capacity to handle 7.5 million passengers a year and accommodate long-haul aircraft, the Associated Press reports.

Mr Radebe said that the airport should provide reassurance that South Africa will be able to cope with the massive number of tourists that will be travelling to the football tournament.

"The work we are doing here should bury whatever doubts that might still exist about our state of readiness for hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup," he said.

South Africa already has two airports at Johannesburg and Cape Town that will be expanded before the tournament, while new roads will be built and the rail system improved.

It is hoped that the enhancements will spark a boom in tourism and enable economic growth for the country.

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