Minister of State for Works Gen. Katumba Wamala has commended Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for it’s transparency and commitment towards the smooth and timely progress on the on-going upgrade and expansion of Entebbe International Airport.
Minister Katumba who made the remarks while touring the various projects at Entebbe Airport said that Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is committed to ensure that they deliver on the demands because Airline travel is increasing day by day.
“Day by day people are travelling more by Air because of the changing economic environment but also the tastes of Ugandans are changing therefore we need to respond to the demand by ensuring that the infrastructure is in place to ensure comfort of the passenger. Usually, there is a lot of jam at the peak hours between 1pm-4pm however the number of lanes will be increased to ensure that travelers can go through very fast”, Minister Katumba revealed.
Minister Katumba Wamala has also urged Ugandans to fully embrace the revival of the national Airline (Uganda Airlines) saying that there will be enormous benefits.
“Ugandans are found of downplaying and talking negatively about government projects but I want to assure the nation that the revival of the Airline is in mature stages and it is going to work. The National Airline is coming into an industry where there is already competition, the airline is going to compete for the routes but we urge Ugandans to be patient and support the efforts of the revival of the National Airline. Ugandans should prefer to fly with the crane instead of flying with another Airline. The National Airline will be run professionally and I call upon Ugandans to utilize the Airline when it starts operating by exporting to the various available regional and International markets”, Minister Katumba stressed.
On his part, Civil Aviation Authority Managing Director, Dr. David Kakuba was happy to note that a number of infrastructural upgrade projects have been accomplished at Entebbe International Airport and across the country.
“Departure Immigration counters have most recently been modified by China Nanjing International Limited to increase their number from 6 to 11. Two booths with four counters and another booth with three counters to accommodate a total of 11 immigration officers have been successfully installed this month. The queuing space, which was originally 101 square meters, is now 209 square meters”, Dr. Kakuba revealed.
Dr. Kakuba added;
Earlier on in 2017, China Nanjing International Limited also modified Arrivals Immigration counters and their number was increased from 14 to 20. This has since enhanced efficiency in service provision and drastically reduced on long queues at peak time. In the Arrivals Hall, one of the counters has been specifically dedicated to handling passengers with special needs, crew, business and first class passengers.
The overall project progress of the upgrade and expansion of the new 100,000 tones capacity cargo centre is at 35 percent level and has been scheduled to be completed in 2021 by the China Communication Construction Company (CCCC).
Works for the modification and expansion of the passenger terminal building are also on-going and are at 30 percent level completion. They are being undertaken by the Seyani Brothers (U) Limited.
Other key projects accomplished by CAA include, completion of the phase two of the expansion of the long term car parking which involved creation of additional capacity to park 140 cars to increase the total long term car parking capacity from 260 to 410 cars. The expansion was undertaken by Energo Uganda Company Limited.
The Air Traffic services Management system and Air Traffic Control Radar were upgraded and this led to migration from use of manual to automated electronic strips. It also extended the ATC Radar’s serviceability lifespan by another ten years.
The Aeronautical Information Management System at Entebbe International Airport was automated and this has enhanced efficiency through saving time, reduction in costs incurred by air operators and ability for pilots to file flight plans from anywhere using any web enabled device.
Also on-going is the improvement of air navigation services and automation of Entebbe International Airport by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) as part of a USD 9.5 Million grant to Uganda from the Government of South Korea.
The project involves;
Implementation of Air Traffic Services (ATS) Message Handling System, a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) and Airport operational Database (AODB) system and improvement of flight procedures efficiency through Air Traffic Management.
The three year project commenced in March 2016 and Uganda has on its part come up with counterpart funding of approximately USD 250,000 (per year) towards implementation of the project that is expected to be fully delivered by the end of 2018.
