The N.dollars 250 million Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) Congestion Alleviation project practical completion date is set for the end of September 2021.
A statement issued Tuesday by Namibia Airports Company Marketing Officer Dan Kamati, indicated that the specialist equipment such as for baggage handling and reclaim will be commissioned and operationalised towards the end of October 2021.
Kamati said the project at HKIA, which is a short-term project to address the current congestion and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) compliance shortcomings, is well on track with slight delays experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in 2020 due to health-related restrictions.
He added that the N.dollars 250 million will also cover the farewell, check-in, restaurant, arrivals, security and immigration as well as Customs areas.
The project further included the expansion of facilities on terminals for domestic, VIP and VVIP travels.
Nexus Contractors are the main contractors and are joined by other 100 per cent Namibian-owned subcontracting professional consultancy companies, Kamati said.
“Namibia Airports Company provided N.dollars 95 million of the project with the rest coming from Treasury. The project is aimed at doubling the handling capacity of the airport to accommodate increased passenger movement up until 2030,” said Kamati, adding that these include the increase in check-in counters to a total of 18 with another five self-service check-in kiosks, and an increase in the departure security screening points from two to five.
The project also accommodated an increase in the departure immigration counters from the current three to seven, while the departure hall will be bigger.
“The new departure hall, as an extension to the existing terminal will see increased space for movement and 17 immigration counters as compared to the current eight while the baggage reclaims hall will be expanded and fitted with three modern carousels to make them five,” he noted.
Kamati further noted that there are at least four airlines, including South African Airways, that have shown interest in resuming flights to Windhoek.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
