ACZ heaps praise on Jiangsu International

AIRPORTS Company of Zimbabwe says the project implementers of RG Mugabe International Airport – Jiangsu International – is working flat out to complete the expansion civil works ahead of schedule despite having to suspend operation at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic last year.

Jiangsu International is currently undertaking a US$153 million expansion of RG Mugabe International Aiport. The project started in 2020, and is being funded by the Chinese government through China Eximbank.

In an interview after a media tour of the airport in Harare on Tuesday, Airports Company of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Tawanda Gusha heaped praise on the Chinese engineering firm.

“Having worked with Jiangsu International in Victoria Falls and now the RG Mugabe International Airport, we have been working very well and more as a team. The beauty about the way we are implementing our project is that while the contractor is Chinese, all the consulting engineers and other consultants on the project are locals.

“So am talking here about the local structural engineers, quantity surveyors, and even the architects themselves. All these skilled human resources are locals. So it is very easy for us to then work with the contractor to ensure that we deliver the quality that is expected of the project of this nature,” he said.

For the project, Jiangsu has the Chinese manpower of 150 operational helpers who are at the management level of the project,

For now, the expansion works is about 60 percent. The foundation of the building has been secured and parts of the domestic terminal are covered. Gusha said the target for the completion of the project is still 2023.

The works include the addition of a new international terminal building and aprons, four new bridges, a secondary radar system, a VVIP pavilion, and an airfield ground lighting and communication system, among other things. The ChinaExim funded project, which is being undertaken by China

Jiangsu International is expected to increase the airport’s holding capacity to 6,7 million people per annum from two million.

ACZ was born out of the unbundling of the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (Caaz).

After the unbundling, Caaz maintains its name and identity but its mandate will be limited to regulatory functions, while ACZ’s key mandate will be to acquire, establish and manage airports in the country.

The separation of responsibilities is in accordance with international best practices.

Under the previous structure, Caaz was both the player and the referee in that it had regulatory oversight, and yet also operated the airports.