By NICOLETTE SCROOBY
Leisure reporter
TWO major takeaway chain stores are to open their doors to the public by the end of this month as East London Airport’s multi-year upgrade plan starts taking off.
East London Airport manager Tebogo Mekgoe yesterday said the long-awaited Wimpy, as well as the upmarket coffee shop, The Brazilian, should be serving food before the end of July.
Yesterday, Mekgoe laid open the medium- and long-term plans for the airport, which
will eventually see it raised
to world-class standards for a facility of its size.
Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) have put aside R120million for the renovations, which will take place over five years.
The Brazilian will be housed in the arrivals area for now, until the House of Coffees takes over its spot later in the year.
Mekgoe said The Brazilian will then move to the departures lounge.
But he asked for a little more patience from air travellers.
“It’s going to be a very disruptive time,” he said.
The airport’s terminal will
also undergo an upgrade – the area will be extended and
revamped.
Construction is scheduled to start in November, Mekgoe said, and the project could take up to 18 months to complete.
The upgrade will result in an additional 2300m² floor space, bigger luggage carousels, an extended passenger holding lounge, 17 extra check-in counters, a new air traffic control tower and additional airplane parking space.
Another concern for those frequenting the airport was a lack of parking, but an additional 90 bays were made available to the public at the end of March.
An additional 150 bays will become available by next March.
A parking area for staff has also been completed, and Mekgoe said they would use this for public parking when needed.
In addition, a tender was put in last week for a new car rental building.
The access and exit roads to the airport are to be realigned, and this will create more space for further parking bays.
While some members of the public were pleased about the alterations, others were a little unforgiving.
Yesterday, Thabo Ledwaba said he had noticed the last time he came to the airport that they were upgrading the parking area.
“It’s nice to see that it is complete now,” he said.
But Malcolm Campbell felt that there was still not enough parking area available for the public.
“They cannot upgrade without ensuring there is enough personnel,” he said.
Sandile Ndandani, who flies between Johannesburg and East London on a regular basis, was more positive.
“I haven’t been inconvenienced.
“The alterations are for the better of the East London Airport. It’s been so small for such a long time,” he said.
Mekgoe said they were planning to get a number of the major projects completed by the 2010 Soccer World Cup.