Cabinet Committee satisfied with airport expansion progress
ACabinet Committee has expressed satisfaction with the work carried out on the multi-million-dollar expansion of the Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) project and reiterated government’s support for the completion of the project. The Cabinet Special Committee on the Expansion of the Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) this week inspected the construction site of the project that kicked off in October 2019.
Led by Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as chairperson, various cabinet ministers joined airport management for a site visit to assess the construction work. During the inspection, it was evident that Nexus contractors and the project team are capitalising on the downtime of airport operations due to the impact of Covid-19.
The contractors told the committee that the downtime presents a window of opportunity for internal works to be fasttracked to potentially accelerate their end dates whilst there is minimal passenger movement at the airport.
“We came to assess the progress made on the project and are satisfied with the tremendous progress made thus far. During these trying times, government will continue to support this project, which is of national interest, and look forward to a worthy infrastructure indeed. Similarly, today’s visit gave us the assurance that Namibia is ready to gradually open her borders. Thank you all for your commitment and effort,” NandiNdaitwah said.
The expansion project is envisaged to address congestion challenges, safety and security issues – and to comply with the national and international regulations and standards. In particular, the expansion in the passenger terminal 2 will improve the level of service to passengers in accordance with the International Air Transport Association’s “optimum” level of service.
The expansion on the airside (apron) will be able to accommodate current and future demand, including aircraft parking, stands in compliance with national and international regulations and standards.
These works will also allow for separation between the international domestic passengers once terminal 1 and 2 are completed. At present, there are 228 employees on-site, of which 226 are Namibians.