ZIMBABWE’S airports authorities disclosed this week that up to US$100 million would be required to complete the relocation of Kariba Airport to a strategic site In an interview with businessdigest, Airports Company of Zimbabwe (ACZ) chief executive officer (CEO) Tawanda Gusha said authorities were concerned that at its current location, the airport’s runway lay between power pylons and a gorge He said a decision had been reached to move the airport to another location Despite low tourist traffic into the country in the past few years, Zimbabwe projects that arrivals will reach five million in 2025, with Kariba Airport playing a vital part in travel logistics to the lake side resort town The airport had already been earmarked for a major expansion and facelift for many years, along with all of ACZ’s assets, some of which are already undergoing improvements “There has been a decision to relocate Kariba Airport from its present position to a new site,” the ACZ CEO said “The site has already been identified This is because of the limitations that are (at the present site) in terms of extending the existing runway at that airport “On one side there is a gorge The other side has power pylons – the main power lines that are coming from Kariba power station (to the rest of the country) So that’s where the restrictions are “In the absence of a feasibility study, we are just looking at cost of a new airport with all required infrastructure We are looking at, at least US$ 100 million which will be required This will be a new airport on a new location,” Gusha dded He said a preferred funding model would be a public – private partnership (PPP), the same model that ACZ has been considering in a number of crucial projects Gusha said PPPs would be ideal for the project given the fact that there were other business considerations under way These include the development of related facilities like golf courses and lakeside villas In January, Gusha told businessdigest that authorities were scouting for potential partners for the development of small airports across the country He spoke as ACZ made headways in ongoing expansion projects of the country’s airports, which will raise combined passenger handling capacity to 9,2 million annually, from the current 5,5 million Gusha revealed at the time that ACZ would be carrying out feasibility studies on the projects Source: The Standard Zimbabwe All Zim News is a central hub for all things Zimbabwean, curating news from across the country so no story is missed Alongside aggregation, our team of nationwide reporters provides real-time, on-the-ground coverage Stay informed and connected — reach us at admin@allzimnews.com. Source: Thestandard
Image from Kariba Airport relocation to cost US100 million 