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The new Victoria Fall airport

THE development of infrastructure is one of the key pillars of Zimbabwe’s much-vaunted economic blueprint — ZimAsset — and the government has prioritised the upgrading of major roads, the rail network and airports. Under the infrastructure and utilities component of ZimAsset, the government envisages a situation where the country will have state-of-the-art facilities that will aid in economic development and we are glad that progress on this front seems to be on track.

As we report elsewhere on these pages, the new-look Victoria Falls International Airport will be commissioned this month with the $150 million upgrade works nearing completion. The development comes following the upgrading of the Harare International Airport, with a passenger capacity of 2.5 million per year, which was commissioned in 2001.

This was followed by Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport in Bulawayo which was commissioned in 2013. The refurbishment of key infrastructure in the aviation industry is a crucial part of moves by the government to entice more airlines into the country’s skies.

The commissioning of the Victoria Falls is therefore a milestone achievement which will boost the tourism industry as the country’s prime resort town will now accommodate more and bigger airlines.

Giving an update on projects undertaken by parastatals under his ministry in Bulawayo last week, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joram Gumbo said the development of the aviation industry was critical in making the country an investment and tourism destination of choice.

“The upgrade of the Victoria Falls International Airport is almost complete and is scheduled for commissioning end of May 2016,” said the minister.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe initiated the facelift in February 2013 to boost Victoria Falls airport’s aircraft handling capacity. The first phase of the expansion project entailed construction of a new terminal building, four-kilometre runway, conversion of existing 2,2-kilometre runway into a taxi way and construction of a road network and a car park. Work is being finalised on the construction of a fire station which will handle four trucks and a new terminal building.

The airport, when complete, is expected to receive 1,5 million passengers per annum, a figure treble the 500,000 handling capacity the airport enjoys now. It will also accommodate wide-bodied aircraft such as B747, B777 and A380.

The airport expansion project was funded by China Export Import Bank and is being done by Chinese firm China Jiangsu International Group. Now that the structure is almost complete, aggressive marketing is required to sell the upgraded airport and lure new airlines. Currently, six airlines are landing at the airport and the target should be to increase airlines and make Victoria Falls Airport a regional air transport hub.

Some international airlines including Qatar, Lufthansa and Turkish have already expressed interest in launching flights to Victoria Falls and we urge authorities to ensure that they follow through on those plans.

We are, however, concerned about the state of Air Zimbabwe, which is not operating optimally due to aged equipment and a crippling debt among other constraints. The national airline should be capacitated so that it regains its premium status as an airline of preference characterised by schedule integrity among other attributes.

It would be self defeating for Zimbabwe to have first class aviation infrastructure with a national airline that is in near comatose state. In this regard, we are glad that the government is making concerted efforts to get Air Zimbabwe back on track. According to Minister Gumbo, moves are currently underway to restore the airline to its former status.

“The ministry is acutely aware of the strategic importance of the national airline in respect of promotion of tourism and economic development in general,” he said.

We also support government moves to further spruce up Joshua Nkomo International Airport and Harare International Airport after the completion of the Victoria Falls airport upgrade.

This shows that the country is serious about luring much needed investment and increasing tourism arrivals into Zimbabwe.