Arusha. Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA)
will undergo major rehabilitation that will cost 35 million Euros
(Sh75billion), it emerged here during a visit to the facility by the
minister for Transport, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe.
The funds will be sourced from Orio Grant
Facility of The Netherlands with Euro 15m being a grant and Euro 20m a
loan to the government of Tanzania under concessionary terms.
The money would be used to rehabilitate the
runway, apron, taxiways and the passengers’ terminal, according to
Bakari Murusuri, a senior official of the Kilimanjaro Airports
Development Company (Kadco) which manages the airport.
According to him, the rehabilitation programme is
expected to commence in the middle of next year and will take about
three years to be completed.
“We are now in the development phase (of the
project). The implementation phase begins in June, next year,” he told
the minister.
The official added that besides the civil works
financed by The Netherlands organisation, the company recently carried
major repairs of the passenger terminal building as well as the fire and
rescue facility. A total of Sh346 million was spent.
Mr Murusuri also informed the minister that the
airport management has started drilling boreholes in the wake of
shortage of piped water from the only major source at Losaa in Hai
District.
He added that Kadco was still facing problems
over the invasion of its land by illegal settlers. KIA sits on 110
square kilometre land which has been earmarked for development under the
Kia Integrated Master Plan.
He said it was unfortunate that the government
officials have done nothing to evict people who, according to him, have
settled on the airport’s land, with some constructing permanent
structures.
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