South Africa Magazine talks to National Airports Corporation Limited (NACL) of Zambia’s Prince Chintimbwe about the strategy to upgrade, expand and improve the nation’s four most important airports.

By Ian Armitage

When we sat down to talk with National Airports Corporation Limited (NACL) of Zambia’s director of airports services, Prince Chintimbwe (pictured), you couldn’t help but think about Zambia’s undoubted potential. Investment in the country continues to rise, driven by mining, manufacturing and tourism.

“To give you an example, Chinese direct investment in Zambia exceeded $1 billion in 2010 and created more than 15,000 jobs,” Chintimbwe said. “Zambia is a country driven by two thriving industries: mining and tourism,” he added.

He has a valid point - mining is an industry in full expansion mode, while tourism is undergoing serious growth, as Zambia continues to draw increasing numbers of people keen to experience the country’s stunning landscapes and wildlife.

“Because of this we have a strategy to upgrade, expand and improve four important airports and create a gateway to the country that will leave a lasting impression,” Chintimbwe said, before telling us about some of the improvements NACL has planned.

“What are those four airports? Well, most visitors and workers arriving in Zambia enter the country via either Lusaka, the country’s main airport, Livingstone, which services the tourist destination of Victoria Falls, Mfuwe which services the South Luangwa National Park, and Ndola which lies in the heart of the Copperbelt province and is the route of access for the mining industry. Our mandate covers those airports,” he said. “The expansion in mining and tourism has been reflected in the passenger figures, which have been increasing at a rate of 10 percent year-on-year. The growth has also been felt by the regional airports.”

NACL was established in 1989 by an act of parliament, with a mandate to provide air navigation across the nation and airport services at Livingstone, Mfuwe, Ndola and Lusaka airports.

In 2010 it handled around 1.09 million passengers. Lusaka airport, which Chintimbwe describes as “the international gateway to Zambia”, handled 65 percent of all those passengers and is NACL’s flagship airport.

“Why are we improving our airports?” Chintimbwe asked. “The airport is the first and last thing people see when they come to and leave the country. We want the experience to be lasting.”

According to Chintimbwe, NACL has invested grant aid from the US Trade and Development Agency to create a “master plan for the development Lusaka, Livingstone, Mfuwe and Ndola, up to 2029”, an exercise that was concluded not too long ago.

“It is an ambitious plan we have and we will be doing a whole host of things,” Chintimbwe said. “At Livingstone, for instance, the intention is to attract and handle long haul tourist flights, and we are already well advanced towards that goal.”

Livingstone airport received 10 million euros from the European Union in 2007, which was spent rehabilitating and extending the runway to three kilometres, he added.

A new terminal is also in development.

“We have a phased approach,” Chintimbwe said. “Phase I began in August 2010 and includes the construction and equipping of the concourse area and departure lounge, and this will go straight into operation when it’s complete in April 2012. Phase II will start from that point and will include with the construction of the arrivals part of the international terminal.

“The new terminal will be furnished with the very latest technology from cargo and baggage handling through to passenger processing and security systems,” he continued.

Once construction is completed, Chintimbwe hoped that the current terminal would be retained for internal flights, although that isn’t settled yet.

“This whole project to improve Livingstone is expected to cost around $95 million. Lusaka, of course, is the nation’s international gateway and the plans here are on a much larger scale. Designs are already completed for the construction of a new terminal capable of handling over two million passengers a year. It is estimated to cost around $196 million.”

The upgrades and improvements are absolutely vital, he said. “The current infrastructure predates independence; Lusaka for example was built in 1967. We are working to change this as quickly as we can - capacity and the facilities/infrastructure should not hinder our propensity to grow. We are trying to make the capacity available to meet demand.

“Where we are already making improvements, the aesthetics are very important,” Chintimbwe added. “From the aesthetic perspective, considerable thought has gone into designing the airports to represent the region in which they are located. All our airports will carry a theme.”

Once the work is completed, it will equip Zambia to fully develop its blossoming tourist trade, and to provide comfortable and attractive travel facilities for the many people arriving and departing with the mining industry, he concluded.

Image: National Airports Corporation Limited (NACL) of Zambia