No Malawian airport among Africa’s top ten

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Kamuzu International Airport

Malawian airports are missing on the list of top ten beautiful African airports that has been released by a website called African Ranking.

Kamuzu and Chileka airports are not having any position on the ranking which has been dominated by South Africa with three airports in the top ten.

According to the ranking, the best African airport is South Africa’s Cape Town International Airport seconded by Kigali International Airport from Rwanda.

Kamuzu International Airport
Kamuzu International Airport not in Africa’s top ten.

Port Louis International Airport is ranked on third position followed by OR Tambo International Airport on fourth position.

North African countries have also contributed to the ranking by having Algiers Houari B. International Airport of Algeria on number five, Morocco’s Oujda Angads International Airport and Cairo International Airport which is in Egypt.

The ranking has also named Abeid Amani Karume International Airport from Malawi’s neighbouring country Tanzania on position seven and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Kenya on position nine.

Meanwhile, President Peter Mutharika has said that his administration will improve airports so that they fit the international standards.

Mutharika on Friday launched expansion works at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe that will see it handling all sorts of planes.

In his remarks, Mutharika said it is his wish to see airports in the country matching the international standards that can perfect connection of Malawi to the world hence boosting the country’s economy through tourism.

Mutharika said that the modernised Kamuzu International Airport will be connected to a new dual carriage way to the heart of the city of Lilongwe.

“This dual carriage will go all the way to connect with Mchinji Road. Muona ma round-about ammwamba m’boma lake lino! And we will be doing a ground breaking ceremony of the dual carriage very soon.

“And Blantyre, Mzuzu and Mangochi get ready! In our plans, all these four regions will have a modern airport. Chileka International Airport is next. Our preparations to start construction are almost finished. Likewise, we will expand Chileka International Airport and connect it to the centre of Blantyre with a dual carriage,” he said.

Mutharika also revealed his plans of improving air transport to Likoma Island which is also another tourism destination in the country.

Chileka-International-Airport
Chileka-International-Airport does not make the cut to the list as well.

“We have not left Likoma Island out. Government has already rehabilitated the airport on the beautiful island, and as I speak, Likoma Airport is the third busiest airport in Malawi, with immigration, revenue authority and other offices functioning.

“We remain determined to construct a state of the art airport in Mangochi. In that way, we can make Lake Malawi a tourist centre for the world. We are negotiating with private partners who are ready to invest in this project. And we are making progress. This is all part of our Foreign Direct Investment vision,” Mutharika said.

Malawi’s head of state stressed that big and modern airports will play a big role in the revolution of the country’s economy.

“The bigger and modern the airport, the more the travellers who bring in revenue! Even small scale businesses like taxis will get more chances to rise,” Mutharika said.

According to Mutharika, for all this work to be accomplished it needs money that mostly is obtained through revenue.

He then asked all Malawians to pay tax accordingly to boost the economy of the country.

“But let me ask my fellow Malawians, to practice integrity and patriotism by paying your taxes. We run this country, and we are implementing various projects using money from taxes. Love your country! Pay Your Taxes! And stop facilitating others to evade paying their fair share of taxes. It is immoral, irresponsible and unpatriotic,” he said.

Government of Japan has made the project possible through a K25 billion grant which was made available following a Malawi government request.