New terminal for Julius Nyerere International Airport in Tanzania
Prof Makame Mbarawa – the Tanzania Minister for Works, Transport and Communications recently stated that the construction of the new 60,000 square metre terminal at Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) was well on course with currently about 65% of the works complete. The construction work is expected to be complete in December 2017.
The airport, which is located 12 kilometres southwest of Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, has undergone a few name changes recently. In 2005 “Dar es Salaam International Airport” (DIA) was renamed to “Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere International Airport” and then in 2006, “Julius Nyerere International Airport.” Julius Nyerere was Tanzania’s first president.
According to Minister Mbarawa, the new terminal would be a game changer in how operations take place in the country as international arrivals to Tanzania are expected to increase to 6 million passengers per annum in the future. The total flow of passengers at JNIA reached 2.5 million beyond its normal capacity of 1.2 million in 2014, and the existing Terminals 1 and 2 will only be used for domestic flights, which grew by 7.4 per cent in 2014.
The Tanzanian Airports Authority signed a TSH 275 billion (US$122.5 million) contract in 2013 with BAM International of the Netherlands for the construction of the first phase of Terminal III. The second phase was also awarded to BAM in 2015, at a contract price of US$110 million. This will add capacity for another 2.5 million passengers per year.
The building of a rail shuttle link from the airport to the city has been proposed and rail coaches were bought in 2014 in preparation.
In addition, the Minister also added that the government is set to increase funds towards improving the transport sector, which is the backbone of the economy, and was also implementing rehabilitation projects to 13 other airports in Tanzania, including Songwe, Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) and Sumbawanga.
