HARARE - Government plans to expand Harare International Airport in anticipation of increased traffic.
This comes as foreign airlines, which had abandoned the Zimbabwe route between 1999 and 2003 due to macroeconomic instability, have since 2009 been scrambling to fly into the country.
Also, the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (Caaz) has said it is targeting to have at least 40 airlines flying into the country by 2018.
“We are going to pursue the airport’s original design and the associated expansion. This will involve the expansion of the international terminal building and the upgrading of the domestic terminal,” said David Chawota, Caaz chief executive.
Aviation experts say the planned expansion could cost more than $400 million and could take up to a decade, in the circumstances.
Chawota said Caaz is looking at the “construction of two runways and two terminals”.
A cargo village is also expected to be constructed to cater for the handling of freight.
Caaz is currently carrying out expansion works at Victoria Falls International Airport to accommodate bigger aircrafts
The expansion budget is $150 million.
Chawota said Zimbabwe would use next month’s Routes Africa Forum to lure more airlines.
The country is hosting the 9th edition of the annual meetings of airlines, airports, aviation suppliers and tourism authorities from June 22 to 24 in Victoria Falls.
Zimbabwe, which at its peak had 34 international airlines flying into the country, is currently playing host to 14 international airlines including KLM, Emirates, LAM, Saa Express, Air Namibia, Egyptian Airways and Botswana airways.
“This year, we want to land two more airlines, Rwanda Airlines and another one from Tanzania,” Chawota said.
Meanwhile, government said it remained committed to the development of the aviation industry and would use the Routes Africa Forum to lure more airlines into the country.
“As Zimbabwe, we have devised the following strategic objectives for hosting Routes Africa, which are to attract major airline operators to use the three main international airports, Harare, Victoria Falls and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, to market Zimbabwe particularly Victoria Falls to the world in general as an attractive and safe tourist destination,” said Munesu Munodawafa, Transport ministry permanent secretary.
“As an African State, Zimbabwe feels obliged to play its part in contributing to the economic growth of Africa and projecting Africa as a continent whose moment has come,” he said.