Minister applauds work progress on Entebbe International Airport Expansion
Though the upgrading and expansion of the Entebbe Airport by China Communications and Construction Company (CCCC) is still four years away from completion, the Hon Minister of works and Transport, Hon. Monica Azuba Ntege has applauded the work that has already been done.
Ntege made these remarks on Wednesday afternoon after taking a tour of the site together with other government officials from the Uganda Police, Civil Aviation Authority, Ministry of Works and Transport among others.
Hon Minister of Works and Transport, Monica Azuba Ntege (C) during the tour, standing next to her on the right is CAA Chairman Edward Ndawula
“The airport is one of the sites that are the faces of the country, when this project is complete it will boast tourism, economic development and also ensure that the tickets are cheaper”. She noted.
She added that although, China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) the company is facing some challenges in the upgrading and expansion of the airport, they have managed to stay on track with the project.
“They (CCCC) are facing some difficulties but even with that, they have not slowed down and have assured me that they will be able to beat the deadline of completion,” She said.
One of the biggest challenges that CCCC is facing is the lack of enough granite that is used for the construction of the road expansion and aeroplane runways.
Hon Minister of Works and Transport, Hon. Monica Azuba Ntege, tours the site with Kampala Metropolitan Police Commander Frank Mwesigwa and other officials
“There are various quarries in the country but most of them don’t have the quality of granite that we need. So, this has made us struggle and increased on our expenditure,” Zheng Biao CCCC Country Manager said.
On top of that, the Civil Aviation Authority is caught between a rock and a hard place with an ethnic issue with the Mamba clan of Buganda.
The Mamba clan is said to have their heritage on a pieces of land which CAA had earmarked for a fuelling site. Both parties are yet to come to an understanding on the matter. “We are going to engage them and see how we can come to solution where everyone is comfortable,” Ntege said.
