Construction of JNIA Terminal 3 is on schedule, a parliamentary committee has heard. But there are financial concerns. Photo: Daniel Hayduk
The completion of Terminal 3 at Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) is on schedule, says Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA) director general Suleiman Suleiman.
Speaking to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Suleiman says he is optimistic that the project will be completed on schedule, noting that construction is moving along at a commendable pace.
“The annual passenger increase per airport is 12 percent,” says Suleiman, “that is already a challenge.”
Last year, Terminal 2, which has a capacity to handle 1.2 million passengers, saw 2.5 million passengers.
Once complete, the new terminal will be capable of handling 6 million passengers annually.
The construction is being done in two phases: the first phase is to be completed in 2016 and will allow for an additional 3.5 million passengers and phase two is to be completed in 2017, accommodating the remaining 2.5 million passengers.
But chairman of the committee Juma Kapuya says delays in paying compensation to residents evicted from the area has already created financial challenges.
“When TAA delays to pay the compensation the amount increases. We have been told that it was 11 billion TSH but the figure has increased to 18 billion TSH,” says Kapuya.
For the construction project, Tanzania received a loan from HSBC under guarantee by the Netherlands and 15 percent of the project was funded internally from CRDB Bank.
