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Congested Kigali airport to be expanded in Rwf12b project

Friday October 05 2012
aeroplane

A Rwandair plane lands at the Kigali International Airport. Photo/File

The Kigali International Airport is to undergo a Rwf12 billion expansion to deal with congestion.

The number of flights to and from the airport has outstripped its optimal capacity, calling for expansion as a short-term solution to the increased number of flights and passengers passing through the airport.

The government has already awarded Roko construction company, a Ugandan firm, the Rwf12 billion expansion contract but also plans to build a new airport through a private-public partnership in Bugesera with capacity to handle large passenger and cargo aircraft.

“The Kigali airport expansion is a three-phased project which will take one and a half years,” said Tonny Barigye of the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority.

Mr Barigye said the project will see arrival and departure terminals expanded, to accommodate the increasing number of passengers.

“The aprons will be enlarged to accommodate more aircraft from the current seven to 13 or 14,” said Mr Barigye.

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“A third conveyor belt will be added to handle more baggage,” he said.

“The New Bugesera International Airport will adhere to international aviation practice, which dictates that airports have to have two runways. Kigali International Airport has only one,” he added.

The expansion deal, concluded a week ago, comes shortly after airport authorities upgraded security by acquiring modern security scanners that ensure efficiency and speed at a cost of Rwf549 million.

There have been delays in landing and take off due to limited apron space at the airport.

Long queues at passenger terminals are common on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays as a result of more airlines dropping off and picking up passengers at the airport.

Whereas the airport was built to handle 20,000 passengers daily, the introduction of new routes to the country by major airlines as a result of investment opportunities has doubled the numbers of passengers to 40,000.

Passengers have been complaining of delays and long queues at the airport due to heavy traffic on the airports runway.

Last year, the airport received over 400,000 passengers and this number is expected to grow by 15 per cent this year, according to the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority.

The introduction of flights to Rwanda by three major airlines—South African Airways, Turkey Airlines and Quarter Airways —has exerted more pressure on Kigali International Airport.

“The worst days are Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, when transit passengers are clearing at the airport,” said Mohamud Wayiga, the marketing manager of South African Airways.

These are the days when Brussels airlines, KLM and Qatar Airways land and takeoff at the airport.

“An a flight can be delayed up to 25 minutes. And with airlines, timely departures build brands, so Kigali is compromising brand names because of the delays,” said an operator who asked not to be named.

Some major airlines —KLM, Kenya Airways, Air Uganda, South African Airways, Rwandair, Ethiopian Airlines and Brussels Airways have begun flights to the airport.

“We have seen the increased number of airlines, which requires us to expand the existing capacity to meet the growing demand,” said Mr Barigye.

Turkey Airlines has signed an agreement with the government to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries.

An agreement between Turkey airline and RwandaAir was also signed to co-operate on European and US routes.

The agreement, according to the government will fast track movement of exports to European markets.

With the increasing number of passengers, the airport authority has been under pressure to improve service delivery to eliminate delays at the airport.

The airlines are grappling with the limitation of only one runway, with fears that even a minor accident can bring activities at the airport to a near standstill.

For instance, on 12 November 2009, when RwandAir Jet crashed into the VIP terminal of the airport, traffic in and out was interrupted as the airport has no alternative runway.

World aviation practices recommend that an international airport have more than one runway.

Security devices have also been installed at the airport and the busy Kamembe and Gisenyi airports near the Democratic Republic of Congo border.

It is to ensure maximum safety of passengers, airport facilities and the planes for airport users plus saving passengers’ time at the check points.

“In the aviation business, security and safety are priority areas that call for high levels of concern. The Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority has taken steps to ensure that passengers at the airport are protected from all sorts of threats,” added Mr Barigye.