THE authorities are planning to expand Tanga Airport runway and other facilities to handle traffic in 24 hours.
The airport operates only during the
daylight since there were no lights and its runaway has a length of 1.6
kilometres. Tanga Region Assistant Administrative Secretary (Planning),
Ms Anne Lyimo, said yesterday that to begin with, the airport will be
installed with lights to enable 24 hours operations.
“Currently, Tanga airport is going to be
installed with traffic lights to enable airplanes to land and take off
all the time," Ms Anne said during ‘Daily News Business Forum’ held in
the city. According to Tanzania Airport Authority (TAA), the airport has
been earmarked with 107bn/- fund for the extension of existing runway
and other facilities.
TAA report showed that the airport
runway will be expanded from the current 1.6km to 2.5km to enable huge
aircraft - the like of Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus 350 - to land.
At the moment, due to shorter runway, bigger airplanes landing at the
port are those with less than 50 passengers - the like of ATR 42 and
Bombardier Dash 8.
Data from regional office showed that
the airport, currently handles 11,000 passengers and some 6,000
kilogrommes of cargo per year. The airport has scheduled flights to
Arusha, Dar es Salaam and the Zanzibar Archipelago islands of Unguja and
Pemba.
The three airlines are main frequenters
of the airport like As Salaam Air, Auric Air and Coastal Aviation. The
As Salaam is a Zanzibar based airline that operates with a fleet of two
aircraft, while Auric Air is Mwanza based airline with 14 equipment and
Coastal Aviation flies a fleet of 30 aircraft and flights to 42
destinations spanning across Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda.
Meanwhile, Ms Anne said the region
authorities assure investors of stable power to enable them invest in
Tanga. She said they have worked out power supply stability ahead of
Hoima-Tanga oil pipeline project in a bid to satisfy the entire
investment.
The region has welcomed investors to
invest in agriculture, livestock, fishing, industries and infrastructure
development - namely airport, harbour, railway, tourism and hospitality
industry.
No comments :
Post a Comment