There are plans to upgrade the freight handling facilities at a number of the eight airports operated by the Namibia Airports Company (NAC) in order to establish Namibia as an alternative regional gateway to South Africa.
In 2016 (the latest available figures) airfreight volumes amounted to 21.1 million ton-km. Upgrades to the main Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) were grounded when the contract awarded to a Chinese company in 2015 was cancelled due to tender irregularities.
The project was only given the green light to continue in April 2017 when the Namibian Supreme Court ended a protracted legal battle and set the tender award aside.
Commenting on the ruling, Namibian president Hage Geingob said the government had re-started the tendering process.
“Despite the urgent need to upgrade the airport, we did not hesitate to seek the cancellation of the tender due to irregularities. The Supreme Court decision to set the tender award aside has enabled us to restart a transparent and cost-sensitive procurement process.”
There will be upgrades to both the passenger and cargo terminals. A second and longer runway will also be built.
While a new contractor has not been appointed as yet, there has been progress in the 45-kilometre road link between HKIA and Windhoek, and it is due to be completed by 2020.
Scheduled airlines calling HKIA are Air Namibia, South African Airways, TAAG Angola, Airlink, Condor, South African Express, British Airways (Comair), Qatar Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Eurowings.
Upgrades are also planned for Eros airport in Windhoek, Walvis Bay (new road link) and Ondangwa.
Smaller airports operated by NAC serve the towns of Rundu, Katima-Mulilo, Lüderitz Bay and Keetmanshoop.
All are reported to be in need of upgrades and refurbishment.
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Hosea Kutako Airport... upgrades to cargo and passenger terminals on the cards.
