Rivalry among East Africa’s major airports is set to intensify after Uganda announced a $400-million project to expand and modernise Entebbe International Airport.

The announcement comes at a time when neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania are expanding their main airports, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) respectively.

Uganda Transport Minister Stephen Chebrot says Entebbe is experiencing capacity constraints and that it is critical to expand the facility to improve its competitiveness.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s ‘World Investment Report 2013’ shows that Uganda is the epicentre of foreign direct invest in the East African region. The country’s foreign direct investment inflows increased from $894-million in 2011 to $ 1.7-billion in 2012.

“Entebbe is a very old airport and is in need of reconstruction. We have a 20-year masterplan that will modernise the airport and make it competitive like other international airports,” says Chebrot.

He adds that the masterplan also includes the expansion of the Kasese, Gulu, Arua and Kotido airports.

Meanwhile, Kenya is currently implementing a $208-million expansion of JKIA and recently unveiled a $655-million plan for a new terminal at the airport. On its part, Tanzania is undertaking a $200-million expansion of JNIA.

Rwanda, the region’s fastest-growing economy, is constructing a new airport, Bugesera International Airport, to ease the pressure on Kigali International Airport.

According to Chebrot, the expansion of Entebbe is critical to meet increasing passenger traffic and allow for more international airlines to fly into Uganda.

The expansion project will include, besides others, expanding the aircraft parking apron and the passenger building terminal to accommodate growing aircraft and passenger traffic.

The car parking area will also be expanded, and a bigger and modern cargo terminal will be built, as will an aircraft maintenance centre.

Constructed in the 1960s, Entebbe Intentional Airport has been experiencing capacity challenges, with Civil Aviation Authority statistics showing that passenger traffic has been on a steady increase – from 781 400 in 2007 to 1.2-million in 2012. Over the next decade, passenger traffic is projected to increase at an average of 7% a year.

More international airlines are also flying into Uganda, with Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and Gulf Air being the latest to do so.