PRIVATE SECTOR TO OPERATE AIRPORTS AND SECURITY IN TANZANIA
By Ronald Muwanga
In Da-Es-salaam, Tanzania
Sixty two airports in Tanzania will be operated under a private public partnership in a move aimed at enhancing growth and efficient service delivery.
The director general of the Tanzania Airports Authority, Prosper Tesha told radio Vatican on in Dar-Es-salaam that the Tanzanian government is working on ways and means of how to operate the partnership.
Tesha said all services and new investments in Tanzania will be under such arrangements to ease the running of public delivered services.
Asked how the new partnership would deal with security issues, Mr. Tesha said even the security will be run by private companies but rules of the international civil aviation organizations require the states to be responsible.
He said there was no need to worry because although the private companies would offer security services, the state organs would monitor them.
Speaking on the expansion of the 10 billion Tanzania shilling Songwe airport in Mbeya to enable it handle larger aircraft up to Boeing 737s, Mr. Tesha said the airport future market lay in central African connections.
The airport is expected to operate as hub for connections from neighbouring countries of Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, the Democratic Republic o0f Congo and the Southern countries.
Scheduled to begin operations in June this year, Songwe airport is expected to attract agricultural products of perishable exports, flowers, bananas, round potatoes, live birds, coffee and tea.
Tanzania Airport Authority says Tanzanias top ten airports in terms of passengers traffic per year are Dar-Es-salaam international airport 819,263, Zanzibar international airport 239,207, Kirimanjaro international airport 149,143, Mwanza airport 137,847, Arusha airport 99,487, Pempa airport 23,459, Mtwara airport 21,391, Bukoba airport 19,921, Shinyanga 17,945 and then Tabora airport 15, 859.
The overall transport volumes in all Tanzania airports in 2003, were aircraft movements with 138,231, passager movements were 1,521,191, cargo and mail 33,251.9 tonnes.
Copyright © Ronald Muwanga 2004