Zanzibar Signs a USD 428 Million Agreement to Expand Pemba Airport

The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar (SMZ) and UK Export Financing (UKEF) signed a USD 428 million agreements to expand Pemba Airport. These agreements also include the construction of several road networks in Unguja and Pemba.

 
UKEF and Tanzania's Finance and Planning Ministry jointly signed the loan agreements. Ms. Saada Mkuya Salum, Zanzibar's Minister of State for the President's Office, Finance, and Planning, presided over the signing ceremony.
 
The airport's construction will be undertaken in two stages. The runway will be extended and the terminal building will be redesigned as part of the first phase.  The runway at Pemba Airport, which was built in 1962, is 500 metres long and 15 metres wide. Only light aircraft may land at the airfield. However, the updated design will enable direct international flights to the island.
 
In addition, by extending the runway of Pemba Airport by 2.5 km, the project will also turn it into an international airport. Furthermore, the project will also include the construction of a new terminal building.
 
Pemba Airport now serves only 45,000 passengers per year, despite the fact that the island receives around 110,000 visitors per year. When completed, the airport will be able to handle 750,000 passengers per year.
 
As enhanced infrastructure frequently heralds larger opportunities for the future, according to the Minister of Works and Transport, D. Khalid Salum Mohamed, the airport construction will greatly increase the number of tourists visiting Pemba Island after it is finished at the end of 2026.
 
The 48 km Tunguu-Makudunchi Road in the Unguja South Region is part of the massive Zanzibar road project. The infrastructure project also expands the 43.5-kilometer Mkoani-Chake Chake Pemba Road and the 12 kilometres long Kisauni-Fumba Road in the West Urban Region.
 
With the addition of street lighting and pedestrian pathways, these roads will be widened to four lanes, two of which will be in each direction. It's expected that the road construction would cause a tourism boom like no other.

Posted on : 27 Apr,2024

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