Cape Town holds talks with Air India for direct flights from Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Direct flights might soon connect Indian cities, including Bengaluru, with Cape Town as a delegation from the South African city explores a collaboration with Tata Group-owned Air India to boost tourism, trade, and business partnerships.

Addressing the press in a closed-door interaction on Tuesday, Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, stated that the delegation will be engaging with the airline in Mumbai to attract new investors and tourists.

Mumbai and New Delhi are also being considered as potential locations for direct connections to Cape Town, he said.

Over the next two days, the delegation will meet tour operators to promote their Trusted Tour Operators' Scheme in India, which enables tourists to apply for visas through registered operators.

On Monday, the delegation met Karnataka IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge to discuss marine manufacturing and technology, along with potential collaborations in business process outsourcing (BPO), financial services, and tourism.

Kharge proposed including Cape Town as Bengaluru’s partner in the Global Innovation Programme and praised the Bengaluru-based company MoveInSync for its office commute solutions, which are being implemented in Cape Town.

The delegation also visited several Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and tech parks in Bengaluru to explore business opportunities. They noted that India — particularly Bengaluru — is a strategic choice to tap into the tech ecosystem and the GCC presence in the city to adopt growth strategies for Cape Town.

"India’s dynamic BPO and tech industries complement Cape Town’s strengths, and by joining forces, we can unlock investment, create jobs, and enhance trade and tourism between our regions," said Vos. He added that the delegation is exploring a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) between the two governments.

"The energy, innovation, and business opportunities in this city are remarkable, and it is clear that there is strong interest in strengthening ties," he added.

Vos also highlighted that the Cape Town government is looking at various cities for a smart city approach to safety and mobility solutions. This includes investments in drone and CCTV surveillance, renewable energy generation, and an integrated transport system.

How Cape Town beat its water crisis

The delegation also shared key strategies that helped Cape Town overcome its severe water crisis, which peaked in 2017.

Measures include replacing several hundred kilometres of water pipelines, drilling aquifers, undertaking desalination projects, and expanding wastewater treatment facilities to prevent future shortages.

The government also partnered with citizens to monitor water usage, introducing a live dashboard that allowed the public to track water levels in real time.