In The
Beginning
The springing up of several
airports in various parts of Africa to support air travel, which
was fast becoming a popular means of travel on the continent during
the pre-1980s period, today means that these airports have become
largely inconsistent with the needs of the aviation industry. What
have rendered these airports incongruous with today's required
functionality are the rapid evolution in technology over the years,
wear and tear of such airport facilities owing to age, over-use and
neglect, as well as vigorous growth in traffic which has now
overwhelmed the capacities of these airports. The changing taste
and trend of airport users have equally caused the need for change
in status quo at these airports. Two examples, the Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport in Nairobi and the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport in Lagos, were constructed in 1978 with
technologies and capacities which were adequate for the needs of
those days. But currently, the airports face strong growth in
traffic that has over-stretched their original capacities and
limited their growth and development. The lesson to be learned here
is that airports must evolve with times. This makes it imperative
for the management of many African airports to face the Hobson's
choice of expanding existing airport facilities or building new
airports. The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) which has
stepped in to support airport development in Ghana says of Accra's
growing traffic: "This increase in air traffic has placed pressure
on the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, the country's primary
international airport."
There are about 15 large-sized
airports, 440 medium-sized airports and 1917 small-sized airports
in Africa, according to Mr. Kenneth Horhammer of Vaisala, a major
provider of weather facilities among African airports. Several of
these airports have undergone or are undergoing upgrade and
expansion and some are new airports. The rest have inadequacies
that seriously call for their upgrade or building of new airports
to support or replace them.
Changing Times
Airports have moved from being
landing strips in the primordial times of airport development in
Africa to becoming busy business centres as seen today in Cairo,
Nairobi or OR Thambo international airports, for instance. Beyond
these, airports are now being developed into airport cities, though
this concept is still not popular in Africa. The steady evolution
of airport technology and demands of airports users should be taken
into account by airport owners and managers in the day-to-day
management of airports to guarantee safety, security and passenger
satisfaction among African airports. These are the needs of
Africa's airports requiring serious attention.
The Proper
Choice?
The need for upgrade/expansion or
building of new airports in parts of Africa is not in doubt. What
could be a challenge is making the appropriate choice between the
two options. The decision to upgrade or build an entirely new
airport must be well thought through to ensure the best benefits
for passengers, airlines, airports owners/managers and the larger
economy, making the most of available resources. The King Shaka
International Airport in South Africa, for instance, which replaced
the Durban International Airport took into cognizance the growth in
the region projected to be above the capacity of Durban Airport.
Durban was decommissioned in April 2010, and the new Shaka Airport
opened May 2010 just before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The decision to embark on a new
airport should follow a clear and evident presence of the following
factors, among others:
a. Lack of land for expansion of
existing airport, maybe due to encroachment of settlements or
natural surroundings that hamper expansion
b. Need to locate an airport in a
region where there is remarkable economic growth and
development
c. Need to build a new airport
where an existing airport is overwhelmed by obsolescence thereby
making it irrational/wasteful to invest in upgrading the existing
airport
d. Need to relocate an existing
airport due to overwhelming natural or artificial threats.
On the other hand, the decision to
expand or upgrade an airport should be informed by considerations
including but not limited to:
a. Need to meet growth in traffic
and demand for increased capacity
b. Need to boost safety, security
and in the existing facility
c. Availability of land space
to accommodate needed expansion
d. Need to enhance staff
productivity, facilitation and emerging passenger
preferences
e. As a short- to medium-term
stop-gap to maximize existing growth opportunities while planning
to raise funding for building of new airport in the longer-term
Whatever choice is made, there must
be underlying economic considerations regarding availability of
resources and survivability of the airports post-construction. In
Ghana, for instance, government through the Ghana Airports Company
Limited (GACL) is said to be making efforts to acquire land for
development of a new airport in future. GACL is currently upgrading
the Kotoka International Airport, and targets upgrading Tamale
Aerodrome into an international airport and alternate to Kotoka.
The USTDA in July 2011 signed a $600,000 grant to develop the
construction design specifications and tender documents for the
refurbishment of the passenger terminal at Kotoka 
International Airport.
This is because "Ghana has experienced notable economic growth in
the past several years, which has led to a considerable increase in
air traffic," says the USTDA. Ghana's Minister of Transport, Alhaji
Collins Dauda, says provision is in the 2012 budget to revamp
facilities at Kumasi Airport and Sunyani Aerodrome, and upgrading
Tamale would enhance tourism, Hajj and agro activities in Northern
Ghana and bolster efforts of the Savannah Accelerated Development
Authority (SADA). In Nigeria, government, through the Federal
Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has kicked off the remodeling
of key airport terminals including Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport, Abuja, Port Harcourt International Airport and Murtala
Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Analysts believe that an
additional runway, improved car parking facility and new terminal
have been long overdue for the Lagos airport. The traffic growth in
Lagos is remarkable and hit over 6million passengers in 2010, and
obvious congestion can be seen on both the airside and landside. In
Nairobi, Phase Two of the modernization and expansion programme of
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) which started August
2010 involves the construction of a new state-of-the-art Terminal 4
building and a multi-storey car park with a capacity to accommodate
1,500 parking slots and 400 surface slots. This is necessitated by
current limited capacity which chokes airline activities and spills
surface car parking awkwardly around the airport grounds. Because
of fleet expansion of Kenya Airways, Kenya Airports Authority is
under pressure to fast-track infrastructure needs at JKIA, with
three 8-hour shifts to meet the coming of B787 by 2014, for
instance. "We shall deliver not just for KQ, but for all airlines,"
says Hon. Ali Mwakwere, Kenya's Trade Minister. Kenya's green
airport is receiving attention as a longer-term addition in line
with Kenya's 2030 economic vision.
In the case of South Africa, the
future development of its airports under the management of Airports
Company South Africa (ACSA) was brought forward to meet the needs
of the 2010 World Cup. The massive infrastructure rehabilitation
which also included new airport construction will now be maintained
till traffic growth catches up with the infrastructure in the
coming years, thereby freeing the country from the worry of
expansion or upgrade of airports in the near future. Mr. Nthuli
Ndiphiwe, a Manager at the OR Tambo, feels this move is proper. In
Egypt, the Cairo Terminal 3 is an airport masterpiece from a well
thought out plan, and serving EgyptAir's Star Alliance, among
others.
To make the right choice, elsewhere
in Africa, there have been reported cases of new airport proposals
being jibbed at by decision-makers. An example is the reported
cancellation of a new airport project in October 2011 by the
Zambian President, Mr. Michael Sata, saying a new airport is
important and requires "cabinet approval and advertising."
Similarly, it is expected that strife-torn regions would require
new airports to provide fillip to their nascent economies. A
specific example is Southern Sudan driven by its crude oil and
emerging businesses. The Vice President of Southern Sudan, Dr. Riek
Machar Teny, says the country will build an international airport
to make Southern Sudan Africa's hub. Further, supporting the choice
in Tanzania, Engr. George Isai Sambali, Manager Planning, Design
and Evaluation at Tanzania Airports Authority, says expansion at
Bukoba, Kilimanjaro and Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar
es Salaam would boost export processing zone in Tanzania, among
others. Elsewhere, according to the Namibian Airports Company
(NAC), the Walvis Bay fishing export industry will benefit
immensely from planned expansion of airport in the region. NAC also
plans for projects to enhance safety and security at Eros Airport
and Luderitz Airport. Similarly, due to economic difficulties in
places like Zimbabwe, key airports like Harare and Bulawayo require
upgrade as they suffer from disuse from low traffic, besides ageing
facilities and other challenges. In all, it is imperative that
economic and other considerations should guide development actions
at African airports.
Going Forward
When the right consideration is
made on upgrade/expansion or building of new airports, essentially
African airports should benchmark against each other to encourage
positive actions and trend of appropriate airport development. It
is vital that more private sector energies be injected into airport
development in Africa through transparent processes. The
build-operate-and-transfer (BOT) Murtala Muhammed Terminal 2 (MMA2)
model in Lagos is a glaring example of the reformation the private
sector can bring to airport development in the continent. It is
also critical to keep out government intervention in the management
of airport facilities to retain optimum functionality and benefits
to all partners.