06 Sep 2016

 The air traffic control tower and technical block at Maun International Airport (MIA) constructed at the tune of P86 680 000 by Colic Construction and Development was completed in August.

Briefing the Maun Administration Authority councillors, airport manager Mr Larona Mokete said the airport, which was the busiest in the country experienced challenges of congestion in the terminal building.

He said the airport had, as a result, employed temporary measures by providing a shade adjacent to the international arrival hall for clientele.

Mr Mokete said they were hoping for a bigger terminal to be constructed to address the challenge.

He said Civil Aviation Authority Botswana (CAAB) was in dialogue with government to renovate the existing terminal by combining the domestic and international departure lounges to make one big international lounge and convert the international arrival hall into the domestic departure lounge.

The modifications, he said, would encompass widening of the domestic arrival hall as well.

Furthermore, Mr Mokete said the airport played a significant role in air transport to tourists who visited Maun enroute the Okavango Delta and other tourism Safari destinations.

“It is worth noting that MIA connects Botswana directly with Windhoek, Victoria falls, Johannesburg and Cape Town,” he said.

However, he said the airport had not been exempted from the water shortage that overwhelmed Maun.

He said they had to keep its status as an international airport in terms of cleanliness and satisfy its world class clientele needs explaining that they spend about P40 000 in water bowsers per month.

The manager complained that the water shortage has negatively impacted the airport since November last year. ENDS