Africa-Press – Uganda. The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) is reviewing plans for a possible relocation of residents of Kigungu in Entebbe Municipality residing in the vicinity of Entebbe International Airport.
This is to enable further expansion and upgrade of the airport to become more competitive as part of an on-going review master plan.
The revelation was made by the UCAA Director General, Mr Fred Bamwesigye, on Thursday during an inspection of the ongoing works at Entebbe International Airport by the parliamentary committee on physical infrastructure.
“As part of plans for further expansion of the airport, it is necessary to acquire more land in the vicinity of the airport. Relocation of people in the vicinity will call for valuation of their land by the Chief Government Valuer, which is expected to be undertaken in six months although compensation would be subject to availability of funds,” Mr Bamwesigye said.
READ: Entebbe Airport passenger terminal works at 42% – UPDF
“We need about five more square miles of land in order to adequately cater for the airport’s expansion plans. We have been in touch with the community and they are okay with it as long as they are adequately compensated, but we do not have the capacity to do that. We shall work with the government in this regard,” he explained.
Mr Bamwesigye further noted that as part of the re-modification of the current passenger terminal building, “expansion of the departures area was completed and part of it is already in use, awaiting opening of the major entrance to the building so that departing passengers are dropped-off by the entrance to the terminal building later this year. An arrivals component of the project is also being worked on to create more room and ambience for departing passengers. On completion of all the above infrastructural upgrade projects, terminal building capacity will be enhanced from the current capacity of 2 million passengers a year to at least 3.5 million passengers by July 2024.”
“The total number of passengers facilitated from January to September 2023 is 1,390,495 compared to 1,170,744 in 2019. In 2022, the total number of passengers was 1,574,405 compared to 1.8 million international passengers in 2019, before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. This represents an 87 percent level of recovery,” he said.
He also said that UCAA is scheduled to undergo the ICAO Universal Security Audit Programme – Continuous Monitoring Programme (USAP – CMA) scheduled for January 2024. The objective of the USAP-CMA is to evaluate the effectiveness of Uganda’s security systems in compliance with the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).
The vice chairperson of Parliament’s physical infrastructure committee, Mr Tony Awany, concurred with the authority that the airport needs to be expanded, expressing total commitment and support.
“Unfortunately, there are people who have encroached on land that originally belonged to Entebbe International Airport. The idea is to devise strategies on how best to reclaim it. The massive investment in this airport cannot be relocated. The only solution is to save and reclaim the land. We have advised the Director General (Bamwesigye) to write to us over this matter,” he said.
“Truth be told, a lot of work has been done by UCAA in upgrading the facilities and this ought to be commended. When we see such progress like we have witnessed today, it becomes easier for the committee to support a project,” Mr Awany noted.
The facilities inspected included the new terminal building, which is standing at 45 percent level of completion, the terminal modification building, new offices on the third floor and the aircraft apron, among others.
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