Groot Property Group to build a world-class Airport at Groot near Etosha
Groot Group seeks to develop and build Groot International Airport as one of Africa’s largest and best passenger terminal buildings.
Groot Property Group (Pty) Ltd is developing Groot, an industrial hub in Namibia, with more than 60 different projects which includes Groot Town Center, 900 MW Gas-fired Power Plant, Steel Mill Plant, Medical Center, Wire and Cable Plant, Engineering College, and more related industrial projects that would enable a creation of more than 500,000 direct and indirect better paying and sustainable job opportunities in Namibia within 3 years.
To make Groot the central hub for most of the travelers to and in Southern Africa, Groot Group seeks to develop and build Groot International Airport as one of Africa's largest and best passenger terminal buildings. To achieve this, the Company plans to retain the services of Foster and Partners, a London-based architect firm which has designed Hong Kong International Airport and other key-signature world-class buildings.
The development of Groot in Namibia is poised to make Namibia the place of all things fun, a good life, the finest shopping, and adventurous. With Etosha National Park, which is Africa's 3rd largest, and the Namib Desert with some of the world's highest sand dunes good for sand-boarding and more, these have made Namibia as a must-be destination for those who love to explore, discover, have fun, and splurge.
According to the Namibia Tourism Board, the Namibia tourism industry is growing at an average rate of 13% annually. In 2008, more than 980,000 tourists visited Namibia, with 73% of them coming from Africa. German tourists also ranked high in number. While Angolan tourists alone have spent an average of US$417 million (N$3 billion) in retail outlets in Namibia in 2009.
Furthermore, zooming in the 10-year plan for the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, a consortium of major Namibia's transportation companies and Namibia Ministry Agencies, the plan is to develop multi-trans highways in Namibia such as the Trans-Caprivi Highway, Trans-Kunene Highway, Trans-Kalahari Highway, and other similar highways in Namibia, to interconnect in the Tsumeb and Grootfontein area.
Since Groot will be composed of commercial outlets and residential living and facilities that offer superior quality and luxurious products and services, its targeted customers are expected to come from the SADC region, whose combined population is 257.7 million with more than US$471.1 billion (N$5.38 trillion) (2010) of aggregate GDP. About 15% or 21.3 million of them earn annual salaries of more than US$100,000 (N$730,000) with an annual gross buying power of about US$2.1 trillion (N$15.5 trillion).
By developing the Groot International Airport, the Company expects to attract more travelers to Namibia. "By 2016, China will become the world's largest economy, surpassing the US, and after China, the continent of Africa will be next. And Groot International Airport, we hope that in the long-run, it will help capture and attract more travelers to Namibia, who will travel to Africa for business and adventure, and this will further exponentially boost Namibia's economic growth," says Simon Kapenda, Chief Economist and VP Development Operations of Groot Property group (Pty) Ltd.
Groot International Airport expects to serve direct flights from the US via Senegal, Europe and Asia. "My hope is that Air Namibia also makes Groot International Airport as it’s hub, and that it will eventually focus to serve only and make the African market the preferred airline instead of serving the non-profitable international market," added Simon Kapenda.
The feasibility study is under way for Groot International Airport. Its construction budget is expected to cost about US$20 billion and will take up to 6 years to complete. The financing structure for the development and construction of Groot International Airport is based on equity and debt financing, which is expected to be provided by the Company's financing partners.
