The renovation of long waited Dodoma Airport has been completed increasing the number of planes landing at the Airport to nine from the normal three,Airport Manager Mr Julius Mlungwa has announced.
According to Mlungwa for the two days the Airport has been operational the number of flights have tripled and this will enhance transport in the country.
“Following completion of expansion works on the runway we are happy that the flights coming and going out of Dodoma Airport now have tripled and we expected the number to increase in the upcoming weeks” he added.
He said the completion of the works early this month has allowed more flights to land at the semi-arid region and the country’s designated capital, lowering airfare to passengers. ”
The manager said that despite the delays in starting the project it was completed on the time frame that was set by the authority.
He thanked the contractor for carrying out the best job and said they look forward to have more airports in the country expanded.
“We are now seeing the contractor delivering and he is currently busy finalizing putting mark-points,” he said.
Mr Mlungwa also added that for long, air travelers, including tour agents, business people, government officers, leaders, international organization representatives and ordinary people, had been complaining about escalating airfares to and from Dodoma.
It was not easy for an ordinary person to use air transport,” he said. Tanzania Airport Authority (TAA) Engineer Mbila Mdemu who was in charge of the expansion project said the last renovation works at Dodoma Airport was done in 1976.
He also called upon the government to ensure they pump more funds to the transport industry so that they can reach a world class level in terms of projects.