The Malawi government says the long-planned $250-million expansion of Chileka International Airport, in the country’s commercial capital, Blantyre, will start this year.
Transport and Public Works Minister Ulemu Chilapondwa says government is discussing the project’s funding modalities with Chinese financiers.
The Export and Import Bank of the People’s Republic of China is expected to finance the project.
Chilapondwa explains that the Malawi government was expected to hold a final round of discussions with the Chinese financiers late last month.
“This [was to] culminate in the . . . engaging the contractor for the project, which will involve the construction of a new terminal as well as lengthening the runway. We want to turn Chileka into a regional hub capable of handling large aircraft.”
Chilapondwa says the project will also involve the construction of a new shopping mall at the country’s oldest airport, which has experienced an increase in traffic, owing to the boom in the air travel industry, which has seen regional carriers such as Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways extending their services to Chileka.
Malawi is pursuing reforms in its aviation sector to make it globally competitive, and the process has resulted in the privatisation of the country’s flag career, Air Malawi, which has been renamed Malawian Airlines and is now 49%-owned by Ethiopian Airlines, with the balance of the equity held by the Malawi government and locals.
Malawi’s other international airport is Kamuzu International Airport, in the capital city, Lilongwe.