Construction of Nacala airport to create 700 jobs

18 May, 2011
Construction of Nacala airport to create 700 jobs
Maputo, 18 May (AIM) – The construction of an international airport in the northern Mozambican port of Nacala will create a total of 700 jobs, according to the official government spokesperson, Deputy Justice Minister Alberto Nkutumula. The new airport is the modernization of what was once the Nacala military air base. The work includes the construction of passenger and cargo terminals, and a new control tower, and resurfacing the runway. Of the 700 workers involved in the construction phase only 50 will foreigners. They will be from Brazil, the partner country in implementing the project. Once construction is complete the airport will need 100 employees for its normal operations. The decision to go ahead with the airport is the result of a contract signed in April in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro between the Mozambican government and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). It is hoped that the airport will be completed by February 2013. Nkutumula told reporters that the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) on 17 May approved a resolution that ratified the contract for financing the construction of Nacala International Airport. He said that the government’s expectation is that the airport, budgeted at $80 million, will boost development in Nampula province and throughout the north of the country. The airport will have the capacity to handle between 500,000 and 600,000 passengers a year, and receive class D aircraft, such as Boeing 757s and 767s. (AIM)