Electrical Engineering Solutions

South Africa’s newest airport, King Shaka International Airport (KSIA), situated north of Durban at La Mercy, will be ready in time for the 2010 World Cup, and it will handle its first flight in early May.

It is to replace Durban International Airport which will be decommissioned.  Durban International’s runway was too short to allow large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 to operate intercontinental routes out of Durban.  This has caused Durban to become marginalised with respect to Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The primary objective of the new airport is to provide for direct long-haul international flights to and from Durban and to accommodate the province’s rapidly expanding domestic passenger business. 

“Work at KSIA involves the construction of a fully integrated passenger and freight airport facility,” says Bradley Hemphill, Managing Director of Electrical Engineering Solutions (EES).  “The passenger terminal will cater for both domestic and international travel.”

EES is providing technical assistance with the integration commissioning and operational trial testing of the over 40 special systems.  “These include the fuel system, aircraft ground lighting (AGL) and associated systems, baggage sortation system (BSS), as well as the services that feed these systems externally and inside the terminal, including IT, Security and life Safety and the associated management systems,” explains Hemphill.

EES will also provide assistance to the airports authority during tests that will take place after completion of the work and during the course of the client’s warranty and liability periods, with respect to the special systems.

“It is a privilege to be working with so many competent people,” Hemphill concludes.