Zambia’s Aviation Industry set for growth
By Nawa Mutumweno – National Airports Corporation (NAC) is set to roll out an infrastructure replacement programme to modernise the country’s four international airports.
The company has received 19 bids from international and local firms to replace outdated infrastructure at the aviation facilities, information availed by the Zambian Embassy in Washington, USA, Deputy Head of Mission, Ben Kangwa has revealed.
In a presentation on a panel discussion titled ‘Aviation: Safe Skies for Africa Space Integration’ that took place in Cincinatti, Ohio, NAC managing director Robinson Misitala says great business opportunities in infrastructure development now exist.
The country’s four international airports are Kenneth Kaunda (Lusaka), Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe (Ndola), Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula (Livingstone) and Mfuwe (eastern Zambia).
Kenneth Kaunda International Airport will undergo the most extensive expansion that will be phased over the next few years with a new terminal building designed for international arrivals and departures replacing the current facility at a cost of about $200 million. Apron and taxiways will also be constructed with a new control tower being developed.
This expansion programme is based on a $725 000 US funded study by the aviation consultancy group, Leigh Fischer Associates, Mr Misitala pointed out.
According to the study, Kenneth Kaunda would become a major business and cargo port because of its geographical position in the SADC region.
‘’Lusaka is destined to become the centre of trade for southern and central Africa because of its central proximity in the sub-region,’’ he added.
The Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport, which is the gateway to the tourism ‘gem’, Victoria Falls, mainly attracts tourists from Europe and elsewhere via South Africa. It will have its fair share of the construction programme with a new concourse, a new international arrivals terminal, a drop off zone and walkways.
The country’s oldest airport, the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, is in the country’s copper mining heartland. Against a background of the current copper investment interests, mainly from China, Canada and Australia, there has been a growing passenger and mining-related cargo.
‘’There is a growing interest from regional airlines to tap into the growing numbers at the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport stimulated by the mining activity on the Copperbelt,’’ he enthused.
Under the proposed master plan, the National Airports Corporation will invest about $25 million in a new passenger terminal.
As for Mfuwe, there was great potential for the airport to become a major eco-tourism destination owing to its gateway to the Luangwa National Park. As such there was need to upgrade the airport.
According to the Leigh Fischer study, a new flexible open terminal which is designed to specifically present the ‘’right atmosphere’’ to arriving tourists would be ideal.
A number of international airlines were increasing the use of the four airports and as a result of a phenomenal increase in traffic had been recorded.
‘’Interestingly, in February 2012, Emirates Air launched a five-times a week direct flight to Dubai. This was followed in May 2012 by KLM, the Royal Dutch Airlines which flies to Lusaka three-times a week. In June 2012, another airline, Precision Air from Tanzania introduced a flight from Dares Salaam to Lusaka.’’
Other speakers on the panel who presented papers included Susan McDermott, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the US Department of Transport. In the main, she focused her discussion on Security and Safety standards in the air travel industry.
Rick Angiuoni, the Director of Africa Global Business Development Division of the Export-Import Bank of the United States talked about investment opportunities in the air industry in sub-Saharan Africa while Fernando Prieto, Senior Project Manager at LPA Group briefed the meeting on projects his organisation had successfully carried out at airports in West and East Africa.
The Marketing Director – Market Development and Analysis (EMEA) at Delta Airlines Jina Sanone said Delta is in the process of expanding its services to Africa. Currently, the airline flies to South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana.
On being asked if the airline would consider expanding its services to Lusaka against a background of Zambia becoming a hub for southern and central Africa, she said presently Delta was studying the KLM traffic flow to Zambia and would only determine after a thorough study was carried out.
Meanwhile, Zambian aviation received a boost recently when Proflight Zambia, the country’s only scheduled airline, acquired a 105-seater Boeing 737-200 aircraft which touched down at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport on May 13, 2013.
According to the airline’s Director of Government and Industry Affairs, Philip Lemba, the twin- engine plane marks a milestone for Proflight and the country’s aviation industry as it will almost double the carrier’s seating capacity.
The new acquisition has started servicing the Lusaka-Livingstone and Lusaka-Ndola routes on which the airline has reduced fares to KR250 one-way or KR500 return for tickets booked at least 14 days in advance.
‘’The addition of the 737 aircraft represents a new milestone for Proflight. This aircraft enables us to provide lower fares and operate more efficiently, making Zambia a serious contender in the regional aviation market,’’ he pointed out in a statement availed to the media recently.
The increase in seating capacity will enable the airline and its passengers to benefit from the economies of scale that comes with a large aircraft. The operating costs of a large aircraft are proportionately lower than those of a smaller plane.
Airport landing fees, fuel and crew costs can thus be apportioned between greater numbers of passengers, bringing airfares down dramatically, he added.
The 737 aircraft will also play a pivotal role in getting delegates to Livingstone for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly in August which is poised to raise the nation’s standing in the world’s tourism spectrum.
The airline will also have new early bird fares which will be passed on across Proflight’s domestic route of nine destinations, including those on which the smaller aircraft will still be operated.
Plans are afoot to establish a flag-carrier for the country which has not had a national airline since the liquidation of the once-prestigious Zambia Airways in 1994. Since then, the country has seen the coming on stream of Zambian Airways, Aero Zambia and, in the recent past, Zambezi Airlines, which have all faced serious operational hiccups.
Indeed, it would be a plus for Zambia’s tourism and trade prospects once a national airline is re-established for the country’s ‘eagle’ to fly the international skies again!
