Malawi President Joyce Banda has said Chileka International Airport in Blantyre will soon be demolished to pave the way for a modern airport.
Government is currently spending millions of kwacha to facelift the airport, which the President now wants reconstructed.
Speaking in Mzimba on Tuesday where she laid a foundation stone for the Jenda-Edingeni Road, the President said she wants to see a modern airport at Chileka as part of her commitment to improving air transport.
She said she has already identified donors for the airport project.
“I will not sleep until this is done. I don’t like talking about doing something without actually doing it,” she said.
The President added that the donors want the new airport to have infrastructure such as shopping malls.
She also said she wants flights to Mzuzu to be reintroduced.
Mzuzu Airport, located in the heart of the city, is regarded as a death trap.
MCP president Lazarus Chakwera recently condemned the status of the airport, saying government should be serious in developing infrastructural plans.
Chakwera said he has no problem with plans to upgrade Chileka into a modern airport as long as it is not mere lip-service.
