Mujuru commission upgrading of the Victoria Falls Airport

Vice President Joice Mujuru yesterday commissioned works to begin the upgrading of the Victoria Falls Airport to a regional airport with capacity to handle wide-bodied aircraft and up to 1,5 million visitors a year.Government has contracted China Jiangsu International to carry out the US$150 million expansion with funds sourced from the Import and Export Bank of China.

To signal the start of the works, VP Mujuru performed the traditional pick and shovel dig and scoop ceremony under the close monitoring of traditional chiefs, senior Government officials and members of the diplomatic corps from China and several African countries.

Before the official ceremony was done, traditional ceremonies led by local chiefs were also performed to appease spirits of the area after previous attempts to expand the airport failed.

Representatives of some airlines flying into Zimbabwe were also present.

Prominent features of the expansion programme include construction of a 4km runway, a new international terminal building and upgraded domestic terminal building, a new fire station, new control tower and state-of-the art aviation equipment.

VP Mujuru lauded Transport, Communications and Infrastructure Development Minister Nicholas Goche and the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe for spearheading the grand project.

"Your vision and determination is commendable as it has seen this project become a reality after previous attempts failed to take off," she said.

Tourists coming to Victoria Falls have to go through intermediary routes to connect to the resort town because long haul planes from tourist source markets cannot land at Victoria Falls.

"Victoria Falls is indeed a strategic tourist destination. That is why Government has taken this deliberate move to construct a longer runway and bigger terminal buildings that will allow wide-bodied aircraft to bring in more tourists," she said.

The expansion will allow direct flights to Victoria Falls and help upgrade the resort town into a tourism capital of the region.

VP Mujuru said other key players like the Victoria Falls local authority should plan alongside the development so that they are not left out.

She called for stakeholder participation in support of the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe which oversees the management of airports in the implementation of the project.

VP Mujuru said the contractors should do a diligent job taking into consideration that Government entrusted them with a "legacy project for our grand children, and potentially a reminder to all, of the turning point in our quest to revive our tourism industry".

More than 400 locals are employed under the project, with more expected to be absorbed as the scope of works increases.

VP Mujuru urged chiefs to encourage their subjects working for the project to be honest and diligent.

Minister Goche said contractors would work around the clock to beat the March 2014 deadline by which time the airport should be fully operational.

Chinese ambassador Mr Lin Lin said China attached great importance to its relationship with Africa.

"As for China-Zimbabwe relations, the facts are especially encouraging. According to the recent release by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, China ranked the first place in FDI to Zimbabwe last year," he said.

Mr Lin said Zimbabwe was one of the top investment destinations for China.

"The FDI from China to Zimbabwe in the past two years reached US$660 million covering a wide range of areas like agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining and tourism," he said.

Mr Lin said China was prepared to assist Zimbabwe's economic recovery and social development.