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- Five hundred people from the UAE, including President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, landed in the Eastern Cape this week.
- The UAE royal family, staff and top artists are expected to mark the end of Ramadaan in the province.
- The wealthy ruler is on holiday in the country and will be staying at a private game resort he owns.
The president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and his family landed in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday on a R20-million runway he built with his own money.
The wealthy ruler is in the country along with an entourage of 500, including other members of the UAE royal family, staff and top artists who are expected to perform for the family to mark the end of Ramadaan.
The royal family and their guests are said to have brought their own furniture, cars and gym equipment for their two-week stay in the Eastern Cape.
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On Wednesday, the UAE president joined Prince Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, members of the UAE royal family, staff and artists, who landed at Bulembu Airport near Bhisho on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday respectively.
Al Nahyan touched down in the royal private jet on Wednesday at around 14:00 and was immediately airlifted in one of five choppers that he brought into the country on a cargo plane.
One of the choppers is an air ambulance, the protection unit will use another, one transports the president, while the other two have supplies.
A government official said:
"I can confirm that there has been no single incident since Sunday, and we did not compromise any air traffic regulations."
Highly placed sources claimed Al Nahyan would spend two weeks at a private game resort he built from scratch earlier this year after buying a big piece of land in the province two years ago.
While many have been left stunned by the landing of international flights at an airport that was decommissioned for passenger travel decades ago, News24 can reveal that the UAE ruler's private jet, cargo jet and UAE airlines used the airport because the size of the aircrafts are too big for the runway and turning circle at Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha. The Gqeberha airport is the Eastern Cape's only international port of entry by air.
The UAE ruler requested to land at an airport near his Eastern Cape resort.
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Bulembu Airport, which was the only airport of the Ciskei homeland, was decommissioned in the 1990s. It was the only airport with the potential for improvements that would meet the standards of the UAE planes in the province.
For the runway to accommodate the planes, the UAE president pumped in R20 million for the extension of the runway and renovations at the airport, which is occupied by the SA military's airborne infantry unit and the SAPS Airwing.
Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane applied to the Department of Home Affairs to declare Bulembu Airport a port of entry for the UAE visitors to land directly from their country.
The interest from the UAE follows Mabuyane's March visit to the oil-rich country, where he met with Mubadala Investment Group, as well as Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
At the time, Mabuyane announced that his objective was to explore trade and investment opportunities, as well as potential cooperation in sectors of mutual interest, such as renewable and green energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, agro-processing, and industrialisation.
A government official in the know said: "He (the UAE president) is on a private holiday. We are building relations with him. Our guests told us they wanted to have a private holiday, and we have agreed.
"We noticed we were not dealing with people interested in PowerPoint presentations and slides. These people are interested in experiencing the Eastern Cape," he added.
He said after the UAE ruler informed Mabuyane about his planned visit, the provincial government "pulled out all the stops and followed every bit of legislation and law to make this visit happen. He is here with family, including children".
The official revealed that that UAE's interest in South Africa was sparked by President Cyril Ramaphosa's 2018 visit to that country and Saudi Arabia, where he triggered financial commitments worth $20 billion (about R364 billion) from the two countries.
