Work on Terminal 3 at JNIA reaches 65 pc

ASHERY MKAMA

THE construction of the multibillion shillings third passengers’ complex terminal at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) phase I in Dar es Salaam has reached 65 per cent.

Areas that have been completed include roofing of the terminal structure, installation of cooling systems (air duct), passenger boarding bridge, sewage systems, fire detection systems, electricity infrastructure (cabling) as well as plastering and the floor.

According to the Director of the Project, Engineer Mohammed Millanga, the first phase building which is expected to accommodate 3.5 million passengers in a year is expected to be completed in June 2016.

He made the clarification during a visit by engineers from Coast Regional Office, led by Eng Michael Mrema, to the site in Dar es Salaam over the weekend to see how the construction is progressing.

“The second phase of the construction project whose foundation building is not yet laid down will start immediately upon completion of the first one and is expected to end a year later in June 2017,” said Eng Millanga.

On behalf of his colleague, Eng Michael Mrema from Coast Regional office said they have learnt something they didn’t know before, hoping that the knowledge gained will help them implement their duties efficiently on a daily basis.

Currently, the airport has only one terminal building for passengers whose three lounges, departure, arrival and VIP serve 200 passengers at a time and 500,000 per annum. The project is financed by the government through a loan from HSBC and CRDB banks.

BAM International already completed phase 1 of the renovation in Dar es Salaam, which involved rehabilitation of the main runway and upgrading of terminal 2 apron.

The second phase involved all taxiways, minor runway, air ground lighting and environmental issues. JNIA is the principal airport serving Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania.

The government embarked on an improvement programme of its ageing airports infrastructure in the mid nineties in order to open up more development opportunities and spur economic growth for all areas in Tanzania.