adminMichael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
KWEKWE City Council has identified land and is now seeking for partners for the construction of a multi-million dollar airport, an official has said.
In an interview, Kwekwe City director of works, Engineer John Mhike said the land was located along Chiwundura Road and was big enough for the construction of an international airport.
“We have set aside a considerable piece of land along Chiwundura Road for the construction of an airport. For now I am not sure of the size of the land but it is big enough for an international airport,” said Eng Mhike.
He said the local authority was yet to seal a deal with any partners for the construction of the airport although many companies have shown interest.
“As you know, this is a multi-million dollar project, if not billions, we cannot go it alone. We are therefore looking for partners to assist in the construction of the airport maybe through Public Private Partnership or perhaps a Built Operate Transfer deal or something along those lines. We will have to sit down as council and see how best we can handle it,” he said.
Eng Mhike said council was yet to draw a budget for the deal since it was still in the initial stages of planning and feasibility studies.
“The land has been included in our master plan, but we are yet to budget for it. We are still in planning stages, but figures and every detail will be released in due course,” he said.
Kwekwe relies on an aerodrome near Mbizo suburb, which he said was earmarked for decommissioning soon as the nearby residential suburbs continue to develop towards the facility.
“In consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, we decided to decommission the aerodrome since it has become too close to residential areas which poses danger for the residents,” he said.
For now, he said, the aerodrome will continue functioning until such a time it is decommissioned.
If successful, the airport is expected to breathe life into tourism in the Midlands Province which is also home to a number of tourist facilities.
Sidumisile Mabena