By Sanday Chongo Kabange
After the world’s remarkable recovery from the grilling effects of the global economic crunch, the movement of people and cargo from one destination to the other is also picking up. Zambia which has had no national airline since the demise of loss-making Zambia Airways in 1995 has had a fair fluctuation in human and cargo inflows over the years.
At the prime of the worldwide recession, local industry players such as the Tourism Council of Zambia (TCZ) projected a decline in tourist inflows into Zambia. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) also projected reduction in demand for air transport services.
For a country like Zambia, lack of a national airline and low investments in airport infrastructure have to some extent contributed to reduced human and cargo traffic into the southern African state. With all this having a direct bearing on the country’s economy and treasury, the Zambian Government through National Airports Corporation Limited (NACL) with the support of United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), has embarked on an ambitious Master Planning Project for the country’s four major international airports, starting with Lusaka International Airport.
NACL said it was currently undertaking a master planning process of whose final report would be known mid 2010. The scope of the master planning exercise would cover Lusaka, Livingstone, Ndola and Mfuwe International Airports.
The Corporation said the planning process involve forecasts of demand for passengers and cargo, capacity analysis and development of facility requirements taking into consideration runway and taxiway systems, aircraft parking apron as well as passenger and cargo terminals.
NACL Director for Airport Services, Prince Chintimbwe, explained that conceptual and schematic plans as well as a development program would be based on the facility requirements developed under demand for passengers and cargo facilities such as terminals and aprons.
He said other components involved in the master planning exercise include detailed environmental impact analysis for all the said programs, capital costs and investment requirements, financial analysis and development impact considerations.
The master plans for the four airports are currently being drawn at a cost of US$ 725, 000 by Jacobs Consultancy of the USA under a USTDA funded project, said Chintimbwe.
Recently, Communications and Transport permanent secretary, Dominic Sichinga, indicated that plans were underway to develop a new international terminal to meet modern safety standards at the Lusaka International Airport and other international airports.
Sichinga said the construction of the new international terminal is part of plans to expand Lusaka International Airport and Zambia into a regional hub.
“The plan is to make Lusaka International Airport and Zambia in general a regional hub, which will be a connecting point to the north, west, east and south. The existing infrastructure at the airport will be refurbished and continue to operate as a domestic terminal. Jacobs Consultancy of the USA has been engaged to carry out feasibility studies on the expansion of the airport. The first part of the study has been completed focusing on passenger and cargo capacity,” said Sichinga.
Experts say the idea of making Zambia a regional hub for air transport connectivity was mooted as far back as 2005, when Zambia asked the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to help in investment promotion. JICA engaged Malaysian consultants, with experience in investment promotion, who did an analysis of what Zambia needed to do in order to attract investments, create jobs and reduce poverty. This eventually led to the Japanese government approving the Triangle of Hope Strategic Action Initiative for Economic Development in April 2006.
It is understood that the construction of the Lusaka East Multi Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) and other ongoing developmental projects in the country will spur further demand for air transport services with modern facilities. The need to enhance security in the wake of increasing terrorism activities globally is also exerting pressure on governments across the world, including Zambia, to put in place security facilities that are international acceptable.
On its part, National Airports Corporation Limited has already spent undisclosed amounts of money to refurbish the current international departure lounge and is considering re-modelling and opening the Lusaka terrace which was closed years ago.
“The Lusaka terrace was closed due to security considerations arising from the risk to airlines from persons on the open terraces considering that people entering the Lusaka terminal are neither security screened nor the facility restricted to passengers only as might be the case in most airports. The corporation is actively considering the remodeling of this area to make it safer and does already have architectural drawings to this effect. This is all in an effort to meet local and international regulatory requirements,” according to Chintimbwe.