Tanzania Airport Authority (TAA) has started the construction of runways and installation of lights to 10 airports.

Speaking to the media shortly after visiting the 48th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF), TAA Acting Director General Shadrack Chilongani said the new construction projects will help aircraft to land and depart 24 hours a day. 

“We have signed agreements with contractors, and they are now in sites,” he said.

Chilongani further said that the move also will help to improving business across the regions.

 “Currently, we have 14 airports that are already having runways and 8 airports are with runways and lights services. But we hope that very soon, the number of airports with runways and lights will increase,” he said.

He named some airports implementing the projects as Musoma, Sumbawanga, Iringa, Tanga and Moshi.

“14 airports with runways and lights including Julius Nyerere International Airport,  Mwanza Airport, Kilimanjaro International Airport, Dodoma, Tabora and Arusha,” he said.

“We want to invite all eligible Investors to come and invest in airports and those interested to construct storage facilities to bolster Tanzania’s exports of fresh produces.”

He added: “Investors can take advantage of our huge areas that we have in many of our airports to invest different businesses inluding, storage facilities, shopping malls as well as hangar facilities.”

However, TAA was established as an Executive Agency by the Government Notice No. 404 of December 1999 made under the Executive Agencies Act No. 30 of 1997. 

The Authority assumed the functions of the former Directorate of Aerodromes under the Ministry of Communications and Transport, now renamed Ministry of Works and Transport to operate, manage, maintain and develop Government owned airports in Tanzania mainland in a professional and cost-effective manner.

In its ten years since its establishment, TAA succeed to improve comfortable, efficient, secure services and facilities for the movement of passengers and cargo in its airports through installations of Security equipment such as X-ray Machines, walk-through metal detectors, hand-held metal detectors, Installation of CCTV Camera and Installation of Explosives Vapour Tracer at JNIA, Mwanza, Mtwara, Arusha, Dodoma, Kigoma, Tabora, Mbeya, Iringa, Mafia, Lake Manyara, Lindi, Bukoba, Shinyanga, Musoma, Tanga, Songea, Nachingwea, Ngara, Sumbawanga, Moshi, Morogoro and Kilwa Masoko Airports.

TAA has succeeded to increase the number of aircraft movements, Passengers, and Cargo by constructing Runways, Taxiways, and Apron at JNIA and Arusha Airport which results to raise Aircraft Movement up to 124,356 per annual from 62,221. 

It has also increased the number of passengers to 2,137,253 from 846,906 and of cargo tonnage to 23,453 from 16,463 tonnages since its establishment up to 2010.