Bujumbura International Airport, Burundi's primary aviation gateway, has had its markings and ground lighting facilities upgraded courtesy of a United Nations Development Programme initiative funded by former colonial power, Belgium. The project was officially handed over to the Burundi Government in a ceremony held last week. |
| Aéroport international de Bujumbura (ab52) |
Prior to the project, Bujumbura International's electrical grid and lighting equipment dated back to the 80s, and was thus rendered obsolete with recorded instances of lighting outages during the critical phases of take offs and landings.
Under the UNDP initiative, Bujumbura's main runway 17/35 received new markings in addition to upgraded electrical distribution systems and ICAO-specification runway, threshold, approach, edge and end lights, a UNDP press release states.
According too the country's envisaged long term plan dubbed Vision 2025, within the framework of its regional East African integration, Burundi is obligated to rehabilitate and construct infrastructure for transport, in particular port and airport facilities, which will require "colossal financial resources."
