Businesses threaten legal action

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - The future of the Plett Airport as a viable commercial entity has reached another stage with tenders for a 30-year long-term lease closing on 5 September.

It is the second tender that Bitou Municipality has issued in a year - the previous one, between the municipality and rsa.AERO to upgrade and develop the airport, crashed when a termination agreement was concluded.

The cost of fixed assets amount to about R35m (not replacement value). And the boreholes remain the property of the municipality.

Runway
Key to the commercial success of the airport will be fixing the runway, which at current estimates would require an injection of about R45m.

Therefore, according to insiders, any poten-tial bidder is looking at an "investment" in excess of R200m before any return can be expected.

Proposals
Some potential bidders had submitted proposals to amend the tender specifications to rectify "glaring" omissions that could lead to the airport falling short of viable commercial standards.

These include:

Changes in CAA regulations in November 2024 that could greatly impact future licensing obligations and cost
No indication from Council on what other development rights might be granted on spare land not needed for airport uses
No recognition of major environmental risks if a runway extension is planned for possible use of larger regional jets
The tender was based on a high-level industry scan done in 2022, not a full feasibility study - which presumably bidders will need to present as part of their submissions.

No changes
In a letter to interested parties, Ludolph Gericke, Bitou's manager of planning and development, said the municipality had decided against changing the tender specifications, confirming the closing date of the tender as 5 September.

"After careful consideration and taking into account the comments and requests that were made during the information session that took place on 28 July, it was decided to not amend or revise the tender specifications. This implies that the closing date for the submission will remain as 12:00 on Friday 5 September 2025, while the required bank guarantee will also remain unaltered," said Gericke.

Ludolph Gericke, Bitou's manager of planning and development. Photos: Chris van Gass