Development in full flight with new-look airports

Fly into Harare and you will be greeted with massive cranes and tonnes of steel supporting work on what will soon be a new-look Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

In Victoria Falls, the traveller is greeted by a majestically imposing Victoria Falls International Airport that was recently upgraded, with some sections being completely re-built, while other areas were added to the original structure.

Then go to Bulawayo and the situation is the same — a nice, revamped Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport greets visitors, after its upgrade.

With the airports upgrading being undertaken by the Airports Company of Zimbabwe with guidance from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development, local airports will never be a boring experience.

In fact, the upgrading of airports augurs well with the developmental aspirations of the New Dispensation being driven by the National Development Strategy 1 and the desire to attain Vision 2030 of achieving an upper middle income economy.

Modern airports play a vital role in the tourism sector, as already being witnessed at Victoria Falls International Airport.

After completion of the works at the international airport, Ethiopian Airways launched a direct flight to the destination using a Boeing 737-800.

Kenya Airways followed suit by introducing direct flights to Victoria Falls after the launch of its Nairobi-Victoria Falls-Cape Town route.

This complemented other airlines like British Airways, South African Airways, Air Zimbabwe, Fastjet and Airlink that were already flying to the world class resort town.

Other reputable international airlines like Qatar, Etihad, Lufthansa and Emirates expressed their desire to fly into the destination. Beyond the Covid-19 era, the upgraded airports will play a crucial role in the tourism matrix by boosting arrivals.

Well, let us face it — travellers are sometimes easily discouraged by the state of certain airports which do not give them that aesthetic experience.

And in some cases, airports are avoided simply because they are viewed as not up to standard.

But all this is set to change, considering the work being carried out by the Airports Company of Zimbabwe.

It is important to the development of Zimbabwe that the airports are being upgraded as that will improve passenger circulation.

The net effect will be improved customer satisfaction and passenger experience, thus creating a positive lasting impression on travellers, who will act as ambassadors of the country by spreading the word.

After the upgrade, the airports should be marketed as brands that can attract travellers to enter the country through them or prefer them for transit.

The fact that Zimbabwe is centrally located in the region can easily make the country a contender for the much sought after regional aviation hub status in southern Africa.

This is because the upgrading will give the airports additional capacity, better connectivity and improved flexibility to handle more travellers.

The designs being done on the airports are excellent and they will help address the usual fears of such ports of entry being difficult to pass through and in some instances too hectic.

Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport

The expansion works which are on-going at this airport involve construction of the international terminal building and aprons, installation of four new bridges, a secondary radar system, construction of a VVIP pavilion and an airfield ground lighting and communication system.

The international terminal building and the domestic terminal building will be refurbished, with the project increasing the airport’s holding capacity to six million people per annum from 2,5 million.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Felix Mhona recently toured the works at the airport and did not mince his words about his intentions.

“I am delighted after having toured this magnificent project,” he said. “What I really wanted to monitor is the time frame because we want to deliver according to the National Development Strategy 1 so that we meet our desired targets, and I am happy to say that we are on sync.

“I was asking the contractor on when the project will be finished and they assured me that by June next year we will have a finished product. This has also been confirmed by our local engineers. This is the work of the Second Republic. We are delivering according to the Vision 2030 that has been enshrined by President Mnangagwa.”

The upgrading and rehabilitation had been scheduled for completion at the end of this year, but due to delays caused by Covid-19, the project is now expected to be commissioned next year.

Victoria Falls International Airport

The new-look airport, which was commissioned in 2016 after massive rehabilitation works, is centrally located as one can fly to almost all countries in southern Africa within two hours.

These countries include Zambia, South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia.

The airport is situated 21 kilometres south of Victoria Falls, the World Heritage Site, which, apart from the dazzling waterfalls, offers a wildlife-rich tourism destination.

Works at the airport included construction of the runway, terminal, control tower, parking apron, light navigation, communication systems and other facilities.

The airport has since increased its capacity from 500 000 arrivals per year to two million, while wide body air planes such as Boeing 747 and 767 and Airbus 340 and 380 are now able to take off or land on the newly-built airfield runway.

Victoria Falls International Airport is now being regarded as a modern international airport because all its technical and application dimensions have reached high standards of today’s international civil aviation services.

Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport

The airport is a gateway to the country’s second largest city, Bulawayo, and surrounding tourist attraction features like Matobo Hills in the Matobo National Park, as well as the Khami monuments.

It is located about 25 kilometres to the north of the city.

The airport underwent major rehabilitation which upgraded it to international standards, with an enhanced runway that can accommodate wide body planes.

The terminal building has a capacity to handle 1,5 million passengers per year and features all requisite safety systems, security systems and ambience characteristic of a modern airport.

The airport, which is now four times bigger than the old one after upgrading, boasts facilities which include CCTV, access control, a fire alarm system and a state-of-the-art telephone system that meets international standards.

In addition to a business lounge, the airport houses offices, shops, bars, banks and the Joshua Nkomo gallery.

Other airports

A number of airports in various areas have already been earmarked for upgrading.

Buffalo Range Airport situated near the Great Limpopo Trans Frontier Park is one such an airport, including Kariba Airport which offers a transport link to the Kariba Dam, one of the largest man-made dams in the world.

Kariba Dam is a major tourist attraction endowed with abundant wildlife and water.

Some of the airports are Hwange Airport located near the Hwange National Park, Masvingo Airport which offers access to the renowned Great Zimbabwe Monuments, Charles Prince Airport in Harare and Grand Reef Airport in Mutare.

The others are Bumi Hills Airport, Chipinge Airport and Gweru Airport.

Airports Company of Zimbabwe

The company was formed following the unbundling of the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) in 2020, with a key mandate to acquire, establish, develop, maintain, manage, control and operate airports in the country.

It was formed through the Civil Aviation Amendment Act, 2018 (No.10 of 2018).

The company was formed as a compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation regulations which stipulate that the two companies must be split to avoid conflict of interest. Under its previous structure, CAAZ was both the player and the referee in that it had regulatory oversight, but also operated airports, now it will regulate the operations of the aviation industry, including those of the newly-established ACZ.-herald.cl.zw