Posted by Cape Town’s quest to be the playground of the world’s elites has received a boost with the announcement that a new private airport facility catering for the whims of rich personalities is being built at a cost of R250-million (about US$32 million).
To be called the ExecuJet Business Center, the new facility will be one of only two in the country offering exclusive arrival and departure facilities for upper-end business clients and rich executive class celebrities. The other facility is at Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg.
ExecuJet Business Center, which opens in 2009, hopes to play host to leaders of the world’s top companies, pop stars, Hollywood royalty and other rich individuals.
The local developers, Dave Mostert and Johnny Cullum, launched the project which is backed by Nedbank Corporate Property Finance (Cape).
The center is to be built on 3.5 hectares of industrial land on the western boundary of the CTIA.
The facility intends to boast a state-of-the-art office building offering an executive passenger lounge with basement parking for 139 cars. There will be a 2,262 square meter hangar able to accommodate up to 35 helicopters. The 5,347 square meter jet hangar space will be able to house three global express aircraft at any time.
The mastermind behind the concept, Mostert, told the media during a press conference that the center had already attracted the attention of top executive jet companies.
“The center hopes to cash in on the popularity of South Africa as a tourist destination in the run-up to, and beyond, the 2010 Soccer World Cup. International aviation companies Agusta and Sikorsky have already signed up to use the center,†he said.
“This is very exciting for Cape Town. The center provides the private jet and helicopter community’s ultimate destination, which means being at the center of an industry that has a net worth of inestimable value,” said Mostert.
He added that in future the company hoped to set up a customs and immigration service at the aviation center, making sure that rich visitors are processed in the comfort of luxurious surroundings.
Source African Press Agency
