Plans to build a R22.6 billion international airport and logistics hub on 13 farms south of Johannesburg are moving forward, with developer Vaal Aerozone now seeking environmental approval for the first phase of the Vaal Aerotropolis.

And, of course, it’s not the only new airport on the way. In the Western Cape, the R8-billion Cape Winelands Airport near Durbanville cleared its final environmental appeals in May and is expected to start construction later this year.

The Vaal Aerotropolis would sit in the Emfuleni municipality, about 9km west of the N1 and Vanderbijlpark, as the centrepiece of a proposed Vaal Special Economic Zone. The Sedibeng District Municipality puts the total cost at R22.6 billion, with R12.2 billion for the airport itself, and projects 12,000 construction jobs and 6,000 permanent ones. It is designed around freight first.

Phase one includes a 4.2km runway able to take the largest aircraft, a passenger terminal for 7.2 million people a year and a cargo terminal for 150,000 tonnes of freight. Later phases add an airport city, a solar farm, a trade zone and an agricultural zone with greenhouses and facilities for exporting perishable goods, built out over 60 years.

Citibank South Africa pledged R1.38 billion in financing for phase one in 2023. Construction is planned for 2029 to 2031, with flights in 2032 at the earliest, depending on approvals. The public can comment on the environmental process until 2 December 2026.

Cape Winelands Airport is further along. It is a private project by developer RSA Aero on the former Fisantekraal airfield, a military site dating from 1943, about 25km from Cape Town International. Its expansion includes a realigned runway extended to 3.5km and a new terminal, with WBHO as construction partner and Growthpoint Properties developing the land around the airport.

It’s been named a Strategic Integrated Project by Infrastructure South Africa, is applying to become an international port of entry, and is aiming to open its first phase in 2028, with capacity for more than five million passengers a year by 2050.

BusinessTech's Malcolm Libera reported the Vaal plans and the environmental comment deadline. IOL reported the dismissal of five appeals against the Cape Winelands Airport's environmental approval. TechFinancials quoted Growthpoint telling shareholders that construction is expected later in 2026, subject to approvals, and that it will focus on the land around the airport rather than the runway and terminal.

Daily Maverick noted that a second international gateway would end Cape Town International's position as the province's only one.

Both projects share one big idea: freight. Air cargo is how South Africa gets high-value, time-sensitive exports such as fruit, flowers and wine to overseas buyers fast, and both plans put cargo and logistics at the centre rather than treating it as an extra. They also bring something South Africa's main airports rarely face, which is competition.

Today, the big international airports are run by state-owned Airports Company South Africa, and a privately built Winelands airport offers airlines and travellers a real alternative near Cape Town, while the Vaal would add another option for Gauteng beyond OR Tambo.

The timelines are very different, though. The Winelands project has its approvals, partners and a 2028 target. The Vaal is still at the start of its environmental process, with first flights no earlier than 2032 and a 60-year build-out, so readers should treat it as a long-term plan rather than a done deal.

For tourism, which is still working to recover its visitor numbers, and for exporters, more capacity and choice is good news, as long as the airports are joined up with the roads, rail and ports around them.

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