The head of Swaziland’s civil aviation authority
has admitted that it has failed to convince the Swazi public that the new King
Mswati III Airport has any use.
Solomon Dube, Director of the Swaziland Civil
Aviation Authority (SWACAA), was reacting to news that the airport, formerly
known as Sikhuphe, did not have office space to accommodate airlines using the airport
nor did it have hangars for aircraft.
The airport was officially opened in March 2014 by
King Mswati, but to date no airline has used it. Even King Mswati himself prefers
to use the already existing Matsapha Airport when he flies the world in his
private jet.
Dube told
local media that a special block of offices could be built for airlines. He
added, ‘This may not be possible though because we still
have to convince the taxpayer that the facility is useful and functional. We
cannot do that when we do not have an airline operating from there.’
The airport which cost at least E3 billion (US$300
million) to construct has always been controversial. No needs analysis was undertaken
before building began and the development has been dubbed a ‘vanity project’
for King Mswati.
No airline to date has publicly announced it will
use the airport and there are doubts about whether the
airport has a licence to operate.
In April 2014 it was revealed the Swazi public had been banned
from visiting the new airport in case they wore out floor tiles in the
passenger lounge.
In an analysis of the
airport’s future, the Open Society
Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) said there were still many
serious questions about the sustainability of the airport, ‘including when will
it open for business, how will it lure additional airlines to use its services,
how will it compete with the airports in Johannesburg and Maputo, and will it
ever get close to its full capacity of 360,000 passengers each year - which is
more than five times as many as currently used by the existing airport at
Matsapha’.
King Mswati has repeatedly said
he wants Swaziland to be a First World nation by 2022.
OSISA said,
‘While the King's critics find the idea of transforming Swaziland into a
developed state and economic powerhouse within eight years laughable,
especially given the fact that almost two-thirds of the population still live
below the poverty line, Mswati can now point to the (long overdue) airport as
proof that the country is moving in the right direction - regardless of whether
the airport ever attracts the desired traffic or justifies its vast costs.’
See also
BIZARRE
CLAIMS FOR KING’S AIRPORT
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