Zimbabwe govt to source funding for airports development programme -CAAZ Chief

By Wallace Mawire [caption id="attachment_35942" align="alignleft" width="300"] David Chawota[/caption] Government of Zimbabwe is in the process of sourcing for funding to carry out its airport development programme which will see the country's airports being refurbished to international standards, according to Mr David Chawota, Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) General Manager/CEO. Chawota said at a recent inaugural CAAZ annual general meeting that Harare International Airport is to soon have major facelift with work focusing on the run-ways and taxi-ways including provision of fire-tender equipment. "We will soon make major refurbishments at Harare international airport which will see major expansion work and modernisation of the facility," Chawota said. He also added that the refurbishments will also focus on safety and compliance mechanisms at the airport. Recently Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe revealed that his government is planning to facilitate infrastructural developments to the other country's remaining airports following the the upgrading and recent commissioning of Victoria Falls international airport. Mugabe said that Harare international airport, Kariba and Buffalo range airports await similar infrastructural developments like experienced at Victoria Falls. "Now that Victoria Falls airport is complete, l urge the ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development to move to achieving our aim of making Zimbabwe the regional hub of Southern Africa," Mugabe said. He said that his government recognises that air transport is pivotal to the economic growth of the country. In 2012, the People's Republic of China provided the Zimbabwe government with a $150 million concessionary loan facility through the China-Exim bank.The capital injection enabled the airport upgrading project at Victoria Falls airport to take off in April 2013. After the total transformation and facelift, the upgraded Victoria Falls International airport has the capacity to handle 1 500 000 passengers per year up from the previous 500 000.