South African property giant buys into new R8 billion international airport
South African property giant Growthpoint will be plugging investment into the new Cape Winelands Airport and the surrounding precinct.
The group has made an initial investment into the development, with the right to co-invest and develop the new Cape Winelands Airport precinct.
This marks the start of a strategic partnership to build the Western Cape’s next-generation aviation, hospitality and industrial hub, it said.
The Cape Winelands Airport was initially built in 1943 to serve as an operational base for the South African Air Force.
It was known then as the Fisantekraal Airfield and belonged to the South African Air Force. However, it became privately owned in 1993.
In November 2020, private investors, RSA.Aero, acquired the Cape Winelands Airport property.
The airport itself is undergoing a significant redevelopment, with the group raising between R8 billion and R10 billion to create an international commercial airport.
Pending Environmental Impact Assessment approvals, construction of the airport could begin in early 2026.
The development will proceed in phases, starting with runway and safety infrastructure, followed by the terminal, cargo and industrial precincts.
On this timeline, the airport is targeted for commissioning by 2028 with capacity for more than five million passengers annually by 2050.
The full rollout will unfold over more than two decades, in step with the region’s evolving growth and infrastructure needs.
The airport currently has four runways, two of which are inactive, and the others are 700m and 900m long. The first step is to expand and realign the primary runway to 3,500m.
This goal for the development has expanded to also develop outwards and create an entire precinct around the aviation hub.
Building a world-class precint
Growthpoint co-owns Cape Town’s signature V&A Waterfront and holds group property assets to the value of R155.8 billion across retail, office and logistics properties.
The property group’s initial investment into the airport is one of several pillars in a long-term partnership for the design, development, delivery and management of the properties within the wider precinct, it said.
Growthpoint said its initial and right to future investments aligns with its South African capital allocation strategy.
Under the agreement, Growthpoint will assume long-term property and asset management responsibilities across the 450-hectare aviation precinct’s logistics, commercial and hospitality components, excluding the terminal buildings.
Growthpoint will also have the right of first refusal to co-invest in future property developments.
The Cape Winelands Airport team will lead aviation strategy and master planning of the international aviation hub, while Growthpoint will contribute institutional capital, property expertise and sustainability leadership, it said.
The group said it will oversee the development’s main contractor to ensure institutional standards in transparent governance, financial discipline, positive environmental and social impact integration and development delivery.
Norbert Sasse, Group CEO of Growthpoint Properties, said the airport precinct will drive development in the area and will become a long-term asset for the group and the province.
Once operational, Cape Winelands Airport will serve as a second major aviation gateway for the province. The new airport will also become a new hub for business, hospitality and tourism.
“Tourism and foreign direct investment are powerful economic multipliers that go hand in hand, and we have the opportunity to influence the tourist experience,” the group said.
“When tourism infrastructure works sustainably and at scale, jobs follow, cities thrive, and communities benefit.”
Cape Winelands Airport images
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