Thursday, March 28, 2024

Government embarks on an ambitious programme to improve modernising aerodromes

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Gasoil in Kasama, where hundreds of onlookers converted on the airstrip to view the vintage biplanes.
FILE: Gasoil in Kasama, where hundreds of onlookers converted on the airstrip to view the vintage biplanes.

Government has embarked on an ambitious programme to improve and modernise all provincial aerodromes in the country.

ZANIS reports that Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Director General Gabriel Lesa disclosed this in Chinsali yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on Muchinga Province Permanent Secretary Jobbicks Kalumba.

Mr. Lesa, who is on a country-wide tour of all the provincial headquarters checking on the state of the aerodromes , says with with the transformation of the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport into a hub, it demands that all provincial aerodromes begin to feed into it.

“ All provincial aerodromes will be required to feed Kenneth Kaunda International Airport with passengers at any particular time of the day hence the need to modernise them, “ he said.

For a start, the Civil Aviation Authority will make the Mansa terminal in Luapula Province to be a model that will be replicated in all the provincial aerodromes in the country.

The CAA Director General disclosed that for this reason , the modernisation of Mansa terminal is on course.

“ For the Kenneth Kaunda International Airports to operate as a hub 24 hours round the clock, the provincial aerodromes will also be required to be fitted with night lighting to allow planes to land and take off both during day time and night, “ he said.

As part of government’s desire to reduce the cost of doing business throughout the country, the move to improve and modernise provincial aerodromes to allow planes to fly and land in various places of the country will enhance the economic performance of the country.

And Muchinga Permanent Secretary has commended the CAA for the programme it has embarked on to modernise the provincial aerodromes country-wide.

Dr. Kalumba has since appealed to the CAA to prioritise the construction of a modern airport in Chinsali District in order to reduce on the cost of doing business.

Zambia Public Procurement Authority , revealed Dr. Kalumba, the has given a go-ahead to vary and use the contractor working on the Township Roads in Chinsali to do the run way at the new airport adding the new site for the modern airport covers a stretch of about 6 km.

Dr. Kalumba has since asked for expert knowledge from the office of the CAA director General to help in taking off the project so that all the required aspects are put in place right at the beginning of the project.

The Provincial Permanent Secretary said the construction of an airport in Chinsali will boost tourism investment in the Northern circuit as well as reduce the cost of doing business.

5 COMMENTS

    • It will come from HH’s pocket, in Mutinta’s pocket and in you mama’s pocket. You have all the right to be Hangry, like Hangry Lion.

  1. An aerodrome or airdrome is any place from where flight operations can take place. This can include an airstrip in the middle of nowhere to a commercial airport in the biggest city in the world. An airport is a special type of aerodrome that has satisfied certain certification criteria or regulatory requirements of the ICAO that a regular aerodrome may not have achieved.

  2. Along with the modernization of the airfields the caa need to totally revamp the way aviation is run in Zambia. It’s the buacracy that is stopping aviation reaching its full potential. We should copy the American model that makes flying very easy.

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