HOLLAND SIGN GRANT DOCUMENTS FOR 15 MILLION EUROS BOOST FOR AIRPORT WORKS
(Posted 22nd February 2014)
The visit by Dutch Development and Trade Minister Lillian Ploumen to Tanzania during the week saw pens put to paper with the signing of a grant agreement, under which the Netherlands will provide 15 million Euros to the Tanzanian government for the rehabilitation and expansion of Kilimanjaro International Airport near Arusha.
The project, which is estimated to cost overall some 35 million Euros, will take several years to complete and expand not only passenger facilities but also introduce new equipment and security gadgets in line with the latest recommendations by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Passenger numbers, but also cargo shipments in and out of JRO, have grown significantly in recent years and the airport is now served by several international airlines like KLM, which flies daily, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian (if they do not by accident land at the Arusha Municipal field), Kenya Airways, Air Uganda and RwandAir, among others, while domestic flights in and out of JRO are operated by Precision Air and FastJet, besides other operators like Auric Air.
Main exports from the Arusha region are cut flowers – many flower farms are located not too far from the airport – but also fresh and often organic produce which is much in demand in the consumer markets in Europe and the Gulf.
The Tanzania Airport Authority has in recent years embarked on a major initiative to improve airports and aerodromes across the country, including the two main airports, Julius Nyerere International in Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro International near Arusha and has last year completed the airport expansion at Mbeya which is now capable of handling larger jet aircraft, like FastJet’s A319.
Watch this space for breaking and regular aviation news from the East African region.
