The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) will need USD400million overall to proceed with plans to expand Harare International Airport, which is anticipating a rise in traffic over the coming 10 years.
Speaking to Zimbabwean state broadcaster, ZBC, CAAZ managing director, Mr David Chawota, said the parastatal is currently in the process of raising USD50million to provide for the refurbishment and replacing of obsolete air safety and communications equipment at the airport.
“We want to expand Harare International Airport for it to cope with the expected increase in domestic and international flights. We require about $400 million for the expansion of the airport and the project is expected to be completed in 10 years to come,” said Mr Chawota.
Construction of a new international terminal building at Harare International Airport was completed in 2001 with an overall design capacity for 2.5 million passengers a year. However, as a result of the economic problems of the past decade and a sharp decline in tourism activity in Zimbabwe, international and domestic aircraft movements declined sharply. The former declined from about 31,000 in 1999 to about 16,000 in 2009. The decline in domestic movements was even greater, owing to the decline in domestic travel by tourists and the adverse effect of the domestic economic difficulties.
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| CAAZ Projected Zimbabwean Pax/Cargo Figures 2009-2020 (AfDB) |
In a report produced by the African Development Bank (AfDB) evaluating Zimbabwe's aeronautical infrastructure and prospects published in 2010, with economic growth picking up, the CAAZ had envisioned total passenger traffic in Zimbabwe to be about
2.3 million by 2020, which would approach the previous peak in 1997. The average annual growth
rate for 2011-20 is projected to be about 9 percent.
Download the AfDB's Infrastructure & Growth In Zimbabwe: An Action Plan for Sustained Strong Economic Growth (Civil Aviation Assessment) here.
