Kamuzu International Airport to have new International Departure Lounge, arrival hall
Government has embarked on a project to extend and rehabilitate the terminal building at Kamuzu International Airport, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport and Public Works James Chakwera has said.
Chakwera said the project will involve the construction of a new International Departure Lounge, International Arrival Hall and domestic building all of which will be joined to the old terminal building which will also be restructured and rehabilitated
The project which was officially launched by the State President, Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika on 10 February 2017 is being funded through a grant from the Japanese Government and will cost K21, 900, 000,000.
Chakwera said the actual work started on 1st April and is expected to finish in March 2019 since it is a two year project.
He further said the terminal building is now old and small to cater for the needs of the travelling public and this creates a problem of congestion at the check concourse, departure lounge, arrival hall and the baggage claim area.
“The project will alleviate these problems by availing more space in the terminal building for passenger facilitation,” he said, adding that, the new and rehabilitated structures will be modern and fit for use by the present day traveller.
“Other than facilitating the processing of passengers, the extended terminal building will be able to accommodate new businesses thereby turning the airport into a commercial center.
“As an international point of entry the terminal building will be able to give a welcoming feeling to visitors reflecting the warmth of the people of Malawi,” he said
He further said that Government appreciates the financial assistance from the Government of Japan as the project fits in well with its development agenda, especially in the bid to develop the tourism sector whose main catalyst is air transport.
I used Kamuzu in April-May. It was opened in 1983 and clearly hasn’t been changed since! But I found that this was part of the charm. It’s not like the massive hell-holes such as JHB International, or Heathrow, or Schiphol. Nowhere near as commercial (I battled to find any Malawi souvenirs, even at the airport it was limited but at least the prices were roughly in-line with the streets of Lilongwe, not like overseas where a coke will cost 3x more than the supermarket). Small, but nice. An airport the way things used to be before the world went crazy.… Read more »
This amount of 21 billion Kwacha is very little money to construct a modern airport or modernize an old airport. If the Malawian leadership was serious about tourism, the sum between 250 million and 450 million US dollars was gonna be suitable to construct or modernize an airport with annual passenger capacity of at least 20 million people. This is serious transformation of a country. The talked about sum of money by the DPP government will be just enough to face-lift an airport with an annual passenger capacity of about 1 million people. With such passenger capacity,there won’t be massive… Read more »
Tourism could help, though part of the attraction is that it’s not as developed as other places. Once tourism and commercialism sets in, the charm disappears. I think Malawi needs to focus more on growing their own food and producing more of their own stuff, the reliance on South African imports (like 70-80% of goods in supermarket are imported, even the fruit and vegetables, heck man produce your own stuff!) means you’ll never become independent and provide for yourselves, and the reliance on food-aid is a ticking time bomb – one of these days the UN, USAid etc WILL use… Read more »
where are the designs of the proposed new look airport for our appreciation!
There is a board at Kamuzu showing the artist’s impression
Paja abwana anakaika mwala wamaziko ku KIA, so this is not news, kapena mwala wamazikowo was for the new departure lounge & arrival hall? Mwina mutiuze kuti abwana akukatsegulira next week———–ena akamenyedwe ndi DPP cadets …….. kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
this story would have been written in February.
Agree. And of course, the picture displaying a plan of the new airport would have made us appreciate. Otherwise, I think it will be another kraal-like structure not befitting a modern airport, such as what happened at Chileka renovations. Sorry malawi, am not inspired.
Next time you go to Kamuzu, check – there is a drawing of what it will look like.