Kazungula District says Livingstone International Airport is far from what it is expected to be despite being rehabilitated to accommodate increased traffic.
Chief Mukuni who bemoaned the unnecessarily long queues that passengers are subjected to called for further expansion of the Airport to match the city’s status as the tourist capital of the nation.
He said this during the Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) workshop for the Greater Livingstone Tourism Development Project organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources held in Livingstone recently.
Chief Mukuni also stressed the need to establish a ‘bigger’ international airport in Kazungula District due to its proximity to neighboring Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia.
He said the district was lagging behind in terms of infrastructure development which needs to be addressed if the tourism industry was expected to develop positively.
However, Livingstone Airport Manager Joseph Mumbi said plans were underway to expand the departure lounge while rehabilitation works on the main concourse would commence in four months time.
Mr. Mumbi said once the works were completed, the airport would among other things, have additional retail space and an outdoor restaurant with the view of the runway.
Meanwhile, the proposed establishments of artificial beaches in the Mosi-O-Tunya National Park were rejected by participants at the Strategic Environmental Assessments workshop.
The participants argued that setting up artificial beaches in a natural environment like the Mosi-O-Tunya National Park would result in loss of wilderness value, silting of the Zambezi River, introduction of foreign materials and restriction of animal movement in the park.
The participants instead suggested the development and improvement of existing beaches along Lake Kariba and Tanganyika respectively and alternative locations for the artificial beaches outside the National Park.
Sizable pieces of land in Livingstone and Kazungula, have been set aside for tourism development.
ZANIS
Zambia is the worst of the worst. I am sorry to say but its true.
Is that livingstone airport?? OMG!! it looks like one of the houses in a low residential area.
Awe sure, i even find it difficult to comment. Ni ka wire!
If they had to upgrade that airport to at least look like Ndola or indeed Lusaka, where would the money come from? Would there be a need for international assistance?? Is there such a thing as investing in an airport??
oh shame, we have nothing happening home really…its sad
come back and contribute miss Daisy
That airport looks like some place even a nfwiti with his lilomba a luggage would think twice about landing there. Really is this what zambia’s tourist capital has to offer. I would rather drive and enjoy the scenary to livingstone from lusaka than get on a zambian plane, their safety records are scary.
GRZ wants donors to come to their aid even on infrastructure that are profit making,whats wrong kansi?
…..even just planting `lunkoto` and watering with sprinklers is a huge task considering the water pouring at the fall all day.
On Chief Mukuni who bemoaned the unnecessarily long queues that passengers are subjected to called for further expansion of the Airport to match the city’s status as the tourist capital of the nation, buy and install modern machines for check in as opposed to using the old system of humans doing all the unnecessary check-in work.
On the other stuff, it sounds good.
Have a blessed day all.
_
Psalm 16:
8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
international airpot notufyani utwauma
Chief Mukuni why do you speak to RB after all you are close. You were in Zim together so just ask him and I sure the Chinese will come to your aid
Cheers chief
Looks like a Biergarten to me.
Yeah it is a shame.I was at the LAP today and was a long queue of pax getting cleared at the point.
But the out side thou is clean and beautiful with the statue of Dr.David Livingstone and his helpers Susii and Chuma
Hold your horses. The picture is not of Livingstone International Airport. The airport has recently been worked on. We should not be overzealous because once thingd pick up in neighbouring Zimbabwe the Livingstone International will be a white elephant. What more that the Zambian authorities have no clue of marketing a country. Livingstone is one of the worst tourist towns I have been to. In my view it will just be a waste of resources to further extend that airport.
#12 Livingstone – Susii and Chuma are not helping the situation right now!
Livingstone airport was worked on a few years ago-we are again taling about rehab.???? we sure hav alot of money
I have never been to Livingstone Airport. But for me, Ndola airport does not even qualify to be called International Airport. I wonder why the facility there looks like an old workshop. I was very imbarased when I told my friend on arrival that we had landed at Ndola Airport.
I recently had to wait for a flight at Ndola airport. Its like an old barn and the heat was oppressive. The only modern thing there was the bar!
All our airports are just strips with ramshackle buildings on them.
I have landed at Livingstone Airport in the recent past! I must say I was ashamed! When you cross the border and see Mugabe’s airport, ichikonko becomes worse. Their airport is not massive but its so modern and clean. Our airport was obviously constructed a long long time ago without any modernisation of the years. The only rehabilitation I see is when they add a layer of oil pain. Now it looks like a huge pile of sticky and shiny oil paint building. Its pathetic!
Lusaka airport also has dangerous crowding. I came out of the door trying to keep an eye on my luggage and the exit was clogged with a tightly packed crowd waiting for relatives. There is no wait area, they just crowd the doorway, I almost passed out there was no air.
My relatives/friends were also in my face taking pictures and hugging me, sticking flowers in my hands, whew!. Next time I will not release my arrival date. Zambians love going to the airport, even if someone just went to South Africa, relatives will bring flowers to the airport for them.
What keeps me wondering is why the these Ministers and other senior government officials do not see anything wrong in having such delapidated ifrastructure as Ndola Airport. Please Minister of Communications and transport, mule endako limbi you will see the need to improve our facilities back home. I HATE MMD THIEVES
Livingston airstrip is an embarrassment. and that goes for the other airstrips we call “airports”
Prof clive chirwa ,kachibachefya no size.by the way dont worry he’s got the vision for livingstone he hinted about it.mutekanyefye
What do you expect? you have politicians squabbling over trivial matters and your head of state is asking another head of state to use his connection to lure investors to Zambia. What a circus.
I was at Lusaka International Airport yesterday. Nali pukunya ku mutwe. How long has that place been like that for? It is BEYOND embarrassing. Those ministers who are always rushing to see off and meet RB don’t have eyes?? Who heads National Airports anyways? We lag behind in everything! Useless, recycled, cheap leaders have taken us a hundred steps back. Icifukushi. We really do need effective leaders and functional systems in put in place. L.stone airport is like I don’t know what. Bundu.
Indeed stone deserves something better than the current structures in place
Surprisingly a chief can tell how bad L/stone airport but ministers don’t. Hey! we don’t need bigger airports but small and modern otherwise we’ll fail to maintain them. Lusaka airport has no air conditioning (too hot).Last time was there March 09 it was being rehabilitated. Hopefully it gonna be ok. I was disappointed with rd from Lusaka airport to great East rd – no street light. I wonder how RB feels (maybe doesn’t notice) when traveling there at night By the way, we don’t have international airports in Zambia but just airport lsk, ndl and lvs but I feel the smaller the better for modernization and maintenance and high efficiency
In case I forget I have a theory why minister don’t care. They want donors to sympathize with zambia or prove we are poor then they give zambia money for them to continue stealing. It’s like what I observed with some ba shimine. They used to save money in the bank during KK era while subjecting family and relatives to one meal per day. Then MMD came to power kwacha got devalued. Their savings got devalued by a factor of 0.01 meaning their k10,000 reduced to k100. Beware bloggers invest in assets not cash
Blame the mediocre gov’t
#13 Learn to tell the truth, that picture is of Livingstone International Airport as I work from there. The place needs expansion and some of us have seen the plan and it will be looking far much better as it is today. Of course the place is small but very neat for those who have been there. The picture you are seening was taken in the dry season and at the time when the landscaping company had just had their contract terminated. That is infact the International departures hall viewed from the Apron
Zambia, rehabilitation works are always under way. GRZ’s problem is efficiant collection of tax and then allocating it to developmental programes. But even little things like flowers and green grass can help make places look great despite their size. Wake up guys!
#29 Shi Taonga zambia has got a lot of water to keep that little place green with nice flowers for the whole year round. And for the sake of all zambians, i hope the plan that you have seen, is just not a plan that will end on paper but hopeful a more permanent solution to that Airport
Just look lusaka skyline and a street in lusaka on wick and you will see that Zambian towns and airstrips are a digress. ministers don’t see anything wrong because they are not exposed to the outside world. some white friends who have been to zambia have told me of how nice uganda is but not of how nice zambia is. Livingstone town & airstrip could have been the best in zambia because they have vic falls town and airport to compete with, but our leaders there are blind & are only interested in enriching their pockets. ndola airstrip is a shame.
Victoria falls airport is beautiful in comparison to livingstone airport.Most importantly it has a runway that is long enough to allow the big jets from around the world to land.We are sitting on one of the 7 wonders of the world with a runway that only allows maximum a 737 to land. If the airport is fixed up and if we do it right Many many european american indian chinese holiday makers will be flooding in bringing in the tourist dollar to zambia to improve our country.