Maun airport expansion on track-Mabeo
Boniface Keakabetse | Friday September 18, 2015 15:14
The airport, which services Maun and the northern tourism destinations, is expected to continue to receive increased local and international travellers coming to the Okavango Delta and Maun itself. The airport design, according to officials, will enable it to cope with the traffic increase until the year 2030.
This came to light during a tour of the air traffic tower construction -- a component of the expansion project -- by the Minister of Transport and Communications, Tshenolo Mabeo. Addressing the media after the tour, Mabeo said the P85 million expansion of the air traffic tower at the Maun International Airport was on course for completion in January next year.
Mabeo expressed hope that contractors, Colic Construction Company would deliver the project on time. He said he was impressed with the quality of work and hoped that it would uplift the status of the airport. The tower project include office space for air traffic equipment and staff.
The airport expansion project, which started in 2008, include the construction of a new met balloon filling station, met yard, warehouses and a store building site. Part of the project also included airside works which involved the construction of a new runway, converting the previous taxiway into a full length taxiway and the extension of apron and other civil engineering works.
Outstanding works are the air traffic tower which is under construction and the new terminal building which has been designed and the project is expected to go for tendering.
Mark Skelton, the project consultant, told BusinessWeek that the terminal building would be located behind the old one. The design for the project was complete, but work will start after the completion of the traffic tower.
Skelton said the Maun Airport expansion project would enable the airport to receive increasing numbers of the air travellers until the year 2030. Bigger aircraft such as Boeing 737 can now land at the airport.
Maun airport is said to be the busiest in Africa after the OR Tambo in Johannesburg in terms of the landings and take-offs, according to information from Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana. In 2012, the airport had 23 856 landings, 23 853 departures and 229 651 passengers. The following year, landings were 26 511, departures 26 394 and 238 339 passengers. Last year, there were 24 864 landings, 24 870 departures and 234 896 passengers.