Malawi to have new Chileka airport, KIA terminal to be refurbished -APM

Malawi President Peter Mutharika has disclosed that there will funds in the national budget  for a new  international airport for  Blantyre-Chileka and that Kamuzu International Airport in the capital Lilongwe will have its terminal refurbished.

Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) Alfred Mtilatils  warned that delays to address aviation safety issues could put the country’s airports at risk of being blacklisted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao).

Buildings at KIA need major rehabilitation and maintenance to revitalise and expand the terminal building. And  there is also need to install new equipment such as aircraft surveillance system.

Speaking when he delivered the State-of- the-National-Address (Sona) in parliament on Friday, Mutharika said the terminal building of the Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe will be refurbished.

Japan already game Malawi a K17 billion (3.7 billion yen) grant to finance a project to expand and rehabilitate KIA.

The project of extending and maintaining KIA is expected to start this year and completed in 2018.

In his speech, Mutharika also said there will be an all-new and modern Chileka International Airport in Blantyre.

Chileka is the country’s oldest international Airport handling both domestic and international airline operators.

The airport has seen increased international traffic in recent years with Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines extending their services to Chileka to join South African Airways.