The Namibia Airports Company (NAC) is engaging traditional authorities and local leadership in the Zambezi and Kavango East regions to secure more land for the construction of world-class airports.
NAC Chief Executive Officer Bisey Uirab said the existing Mpacha airport in the Zambezi region and the Rundu airport in the Kavango East region are all situated on land owned by the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs, limiting the company’s ability to undertake major infrastructure development.
Uirab said the plan is part of NAC’s strategy to prepare for the anticipated traffic congestion at the various regional and international airports in the next five years.
“In order to have more flights coming to Namibia, we need to have proper infrastructure and world-class safety measures. It is for this reason that we are in discussion with our stakeholder [government] to execute some infrastructure development, more so at Mpacha airport, as Zambezi region is a tourist hub, thus needs a new facelift,” he said.
“At the moment, we are unable to do much, hence, we are negotiating with the traditional authority to make land available so that we can build and expand. The same applies with Rundu.”
Highlighting the significance of capacity building and infrastructure, Uirab said he was satisfied with the upgrade made at the Hosea Kutako International Airport, from the runway to the air prints and terminal facilities.
“We are in discussion with our shareholder [government] in terms of the improvements we have made at Hosea Kutako International Airport over the past two years, as proven by the positive feedback from airliners. But we know that numbers are growing very fast, hence, if we do not do something now, in the next five to eight years, we anticipate that the current facilities will be congested,” he said.
“It is based on the fact that in the next few years, we shall pump more funds into investments to boost capacity, such as runaways, terminals and air prints, a subject under discussion with the shareholder. Also, it is worth noting the significant development at the busy Lüderitz airport, where there are green hydrogen activities further supported by the recent discoveries of oil and gas, which warrants the capacitation of terminals. These are some of the lined-up projects we shall be undertaking,” he revealed.
In addition, Uirab said if Namibia is to be a logistical hub, there is a need to service regional sister countries and ensure that their goods and people move in and out freely, including the international community.
He highlighted that regional airlines from Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Angola are calling to increase their numbers to operate in Namibia.
“This is only possible if we put the necessary policies and infrastructure in place for a safe and smooth movement. Thus, from the aviation perspective, we are working very closely with the tourism sector, government and business fraternity because airlines don’t come to a country for the sake of flying, but because you are offering something worthy. This includes more travellers and cargo,” Uirab said.
“We held an aviation seminar last year, which was a success, and this year we have invited AviaDeve Africa, an organisation that represents the aviation industry on the continent. We are using that platform to market Namibia,” he added.
In further increasing traffic to Namibia, the CEO said they recently travelled to Europe and held meetings with various airlines, including AirFrance, British Airways, UAE, Qatar, and Turkish Airlines, to lure them.
“There is great interest from many of them flying to Namibia, but provided we create that opportunity and scope in terms of passengers through tourism, business and picking up cargo,” he said.
“Many of them wanted to come sooner, but the problem is the availability of maintenance equipment. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, there were some delays in the manufacturing of aircraft. Therefore, they cannot commit to starting operations in the next two years until they have sufficient aeroplanes. So, it is work in progress, and we remain confident that we will turn Namibia into a logistics hub,” he said.
