Comair may buy Durban airport

Johannesburg - British Airways (BA) franchise, Comair, wants to buy Durban International Airport (DIA).

DIA, which currently belongs to the Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa), may come on to the market because Acsa is building a new airport, the King Shaka International Airport (KSIA), outside Durban.

Comair, which manages the franchise on South African domestic routes and owns the affordable airline kulula.com, said it planned to buy the DIA in partnership with another South African airport company.

"We don't plan to become involved in airport management. Our partner will attend to airport operations and we will continue running our airline business," Comair joint CEO Gidon Novick told Sake24.

The owners of the Lanseria airport were thought to be the partner to which Novick was referring, but he declined to confirm this.

Acsa, the existing owner of the airport, is a public enterprise having government as its shareholder. The company falls under the transport department.

Department spokesperson, Thami Ngidi, said that although the department noted Comair?s interest, it was nonetheless unclear what Acsa would do with the property.

According to Novick, Comair hoped to finalise a deal as quickly as possible. "We would like to own the property before the Fifa 2010 World Cup soccer tournament kicked off. We are therefore aiming for May next year."

Said Ngidi, however, the DIA transaction would only take place after the soccer tournament. Other parties were also interested in the property, he said. Transnet and Toyota have been previously associated with DIA.

A value of R3bn has already been placed on the existing DIA, which is situated in one of Durban's most strategic areas. Ngidi said, however, the transport department had not valued the asset yet.

Novick also rejects the figure of R3bn. "Comair is prepared to pay a fair price for the property, but R3bn is far from fair."

- Sake24.com

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