The construction of a new mega terminal at Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) is finally set start, after a delay of more than six years.
The East African nation announced the contractor would move on site before the end of January to start construction on the $200-million project.
Tanzania has already secured $164.3-million in funding from the Netherlands government and contracted BAM International, a subsidiary of Royal BAM Group, to design and construct the new terminal III complex.
Project manager Mohamed Milunga says construction should be completed in 18 months.
The complex will be one of the key infrastructure investments in Tanzania, East Africa’s second- largest economy, which is jostling with neighbouring Kenya and Uganda to be the regional air transport connecting hub.
The terminal will ultimately resolve the challenge of capacity, which has dogged JNIA, even after the modernisation and upgrading of Terminal II.
With the new complex, Tanzania expects to boost passenger numbers from the current 2.2-million to 6-million a year.
“The airport’s original capacity was for 1.2-million passengers a year, but the current use is over two-million passengers in 2012,” says Milunga.
While the construction of the Terminal III complex was conceived over a decade ago, finan- cing and procurement controver- sies have delayed its implementation.
In 2007, the Tanzania govern- ment entered into a deal with China International Fund and China Sonangol International Holdings, but the deal collapsed amid allegations of corruption involving Ministry of Transport officials.
Construction of the terminal will be implemented in two phases. Phase 1 will comprise the main terminal building, including parking lots, access roads, platforms and a taxiway.
Phase 2 will provide further capacity to accommodate six-million passengers a year.