The expansion of Entebbe International Airport in Uganda has been delayed, and is currently sitting at 28% progress. Construction began last year May.
The project is being carried out by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).
The project is projected to cost over Ush713bn (€169m), and involves construction of a new cargo terminal, oil firm and aims to improve the airports runway.
The Minister for Works and Transport, Monica Azuba Ntege, said the project aims to increase arrivals, cargo and to boost the country’s economy in areas such as tourism, reported New Vision.
The Minister said that the project should be complete by 2021.
Vincent Mugaba, Public Relations Officer for the Uganda Tourism Board spoke to Tourism Update about the consequences of the delay in terms of tourism in the country.
“Around the world construction projects are often delayed for one reason or another and this delay will have an impact on the travel experience to and out of Uganda. Travellers will suffer the inconveniences that arise from construction works but the silver lining is that at the end of it all, we shall have an updated and modern airport to match any in the region,” said Mugaba.
He said that the delay will not necessarily impact tourism objectives in Uganda; however it could possibly impact arrivals in some way.
“The greater impact is the inconvenience of having to go through an airport with ongoing upgrades. For the majority of travellers, I doubt this would be a problem considering that the clearance through immigration is much faster since the introduction of the electronic visa,” continued Mugaba.
He concluded: “All plans to promote the destination and drive up arrivals will continue. The priority is to ensure there is a world-class facility with capacity to handle the growing numbers.”
