A roof design fault has delayed completion of the new airport terminal again.
Director of Economic Development at the municipality, Ferdie Alberts said rains in recent weeks resulted in the terminal building’s roof leaking heavily.
ALSO READ: MUST READ: Airport facility is almost complete
Earlier this month, he met with a professional team.
He tasked this team with finding the cause of the problem, solutions thereof and who was liable to pay for repairs.
This also meant the snag list was not yet attended to.
“There have been knock-on effects, as SA Airlink said it was prepared to move in as soon as the facility was ready.”
Due to the pending work, the contract has been extended until the end of April, and the establishment of a fuel depot will be opened to the private sector.
READ NOW: PREVIEW: Airport terminal project deadline lengthened until February
Once work finished, occupation certificates could be handed over.
“The interest is there and the remaining space in the building has been taken.”
In terms of other facilities, Alberts said numerous franchises and private restaurants had expressed interest in opening stores at Newcastle Airport. Space at the Techno Hub was also full up.
Alberts and Mayor, Makhosini Nkosi both appeared in a recent promotional video for the four Techno Hubs of KwaZulu-Natal.
Newcastle’s hub was marketed as 20 hectares of industrial land.
In addition, Alberts said the department had met with a company recently, with regard to a proposed online training platform funded by the KZN government.
The name of this initiative is Youth Employment Service (Yes).
In an interview in March with Caxton publication, The Citizen, Yes CEO, Tashmia Ismail-Saville said recent statistics showed 5.9-million youths were without jobs.
Yes aims to help youths source jobs in the digital space, among other goals.
Ismail-Saville said the programme went beyond an internship, as it encouraged companies to recruit as many young people as they could.
There were also numerous strategies in place.
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