Handling nearly 19 million passengers per year the airport – named after the former president of the African National Congress (ANC), Oliver Reginald Tambo, whose job it was to travel abroad in order to mobilise international opinion in opposition to the apartheid system – handles nearly 320,000 tonnes of cargo annually. Of this 191,000 tonnes is domestic cargo and the remaining 129,000 tonnes is international including what the airport terms as regional, from other southern African countries.

South African Airways operates its hub out of OR Tambo and self handles its own cargo while three other ground handlers – Menzies, Swissport and Bidair Services (a South African conglomerate) are licensed as third party handlers.

“Historically we’ve never focused on cargo largely because none of our revenue is linked to the tonnage other than landing fees for the aircraft,” says general manager Tebogo Mekgoe. The current model is to lease cargo facilities out to forwarders and handlers who operate them on behalf of shippers and airlines.

The airport has both facilities for perishables which make up about 16 per cent of inbound and 12 per cent of outbound cargo, as well as general cargo. With significant automotive manufacturing in the country, mostly by German companies like Mercedes, BMW and VW, the airport sees significant automotive cargos – mostly spare parts – which form about eight per cent outbound and 15 per cent inbound. But this lack of intensive cargo focus is set to change as the airport is currently studying the space for future capacity growth because currently it is constrained – highway on one side, runway on the other. “What we’re trying to focus on is to learn enough about cargo and the logistics around cargo such that the facility we put in place gives everybody involved the necessary flexibility,” Mekgoe said.

“We’re really trying to establish how to get a little bit more out of what we have currently and also how do we then, when we eventually (in about 10 years time) move to a new structure, how do we set it up relative to the economy,” he added.

He notes that the local municipality is embarking on a new aerotropolis concept to try and zone specific land for industrial development favourable for companies that need quick access to the airport. The idea is to leverage public and private sector investment at the airport and surrounding areas. To support industrial development in this area, approval was recently given for the creation of an Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) in the area surrounding the airport.

“So we are sitting with the various players on land use guidelines, strategically so that all the land that needs to be reserved for that kind of freight, high value, low weight freight is not too far from the airport. So it’s all of that, trying to plan it so that it’s very clear and has the right incentives in place – that’s what’s lacking now, is the incentives,” he notes.

“So I can’t sit with potential players and say this is what I have to offer these are the incentives that are part of the package that comes with being part of this place – that’s largely what we’re trying to work on now, getting that integration right such that we can all speak with the same voice as to what the benefits are, to both shippers and consignees.”

As an example of the type of company that is being eyed for the development, Mekgoe notes a recent request for proposal for jewel manufacturing within this zone. While South Africa being a major producer of diamonds, it is only involved in the extraction with all value adding taking place in Europe. The government wants to return some of the value-adding to the country and transfer skills to South Africans.

Other initiatives Mekgoe and his team are working on is to work on influencing the demand side of the business. “We found the supply side difficult to influence so we’re trying to influence the demand side – whether its passenger or cargo,” he said.

On the cargo side he’s trying to place executives on various export councils to play an influential role and create the awareness. “We are focusing on this a lot, to make sure that the people that could benefit from air freight know what is possible and also the airlines to just be aware of what the potential demand is.”