According to the Minister for Works, Transport and Communication, Prof Makame Mbarawa, the new terminal will include shopping malls and several other business outlets offering plenty of job opportunities.
It will accommodate at least six million passengers per annum, compared to Terminal II currently in use which can handle between 1.5 and 2 million passengers per year.
“Upon completion, the facility will be 540 metres (just over half a kilometre) long horizontally, making it capable of dealing with 20 flights at a time,” the minister said.
Prof Mbarawa was speaking after inspecting both terminals during a tour of JNIA on Wednesday in order to acquaint himself with the challenges that passengers and staff have to deal with there.
The minister said the cost of construction for phases one and two of the Terminal III project amounted to 254 million euros, with the contractor having completed 45 per cent of the job so far.
According to Tanzania Airport Authority (TAA) acting director general George Sambali, about 20 per cent of all international traffic to and from Dar es Salaam currently passes through the Nairobi connection route, while the South African and Ethiopian connection routes cover 45 per cent of the traffic.
Once Terminal III is completed, there will be no need for such connection flights when travelling to or from Dar es Salaam, Sambali explained.
He elaborated on other TAA plans to improve the country’s airport network with the aim of helping boost trade with neighbouring countries.
The Songwe airport currently under construction will facilitate movement of goods to Eastern Congo and Malawi, while the planned expansion of Kigoma airport is expected to boost trade with Burundi and Rwanda, he explained.
At the same time, the expansion of Mwanza airport is now in progress to make it an aviation centre in the next few years, he added.
“When all these airports become fully operational, JNIA in Dar es Salaam will be a hub to facilitate flight connections within the country,” Sambali said.
Meanwhile, minister Mbarawa directed the Immigration Department, Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and National Microfinance Bank (NMB) to work closely together to facilitate a smoother issuance of visas to foreign passengers arriving at JNIA’s Terminal II.
He gave the directive after observing long queues of passengers waiting for visas at the terminal.
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