By Wallace Mawire
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.
