No site for Mzuzu airport—Minister

Minister of Transport and Public Works Jacob Hara has revealed that there is no site for the construction of the much-talked about Mzuzu International Airport despite the previous government identifying Lusangazi as the ideal location.

The minister revealed this on Wednesday during a press conference aimed at updating Malawians on projects and other initiatives that government is embarking on in the transport sector.

Hara said his ministry tried to trace the place in Lusangazi where the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government indicated was earmarked for the airport, but it established that no feasibility study was done.

“You do not just wake up and say we will construct an airport here. You need to do a feasibility study. There are a number of things that have to be looked into before you can settle for the site.

“But as it, is there was no feasibility study done. The previous government did that for political gains seeing that the election was approaching,” Hara said.

Former president Peter Mutharika presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the airport in 2017.

Construction works to the tune of $20 million (approximately K14.6 billion) funded by the Exim Bank of China were scheduled to start in November that year.

At the time minister of Transport Jappie Mhango indicated that the new airport would be constructed at Lusangazi not Edundu as was earlier announced.

He said the idea was to construct the facility within the city. Edundu is about 22 kilometres away from Mzuzu City.

People in the area were promised compensation and were barred from implementing permanent projects. However, years have passed without the people being compensated and construction of the airport taking place.

Hara said it is now that government will start looking for a place where the new airport can be constructed.

President Lazarus Chakwera has on several occasions promised to construct the airport which will be named after Orton Chirwa, one of the leading voices in the struggle for Malawi’s independence.

In an interview yesterday, former minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe said the DPP government was committed to having the Mzuzu International Airport constructed had it not been kicked out of government. “By now we would have had that airport and a new Chileka International Airport because we were in the process of negotiations on financing,” he said.