Sun, 03 Sep 2017 12:33:25 +0000
BY LINDA SOKO TEMBO
LUNDAZI’S newly constructed airstrip will boost investment in the district, Civil Aviation Communication Officer in Chipata District, Hector Chimbwe has said.
In an interview with the Daily Nation, Mr. Chimbwe said the Airstrip will soon be operational to benefit Lundazi district.
Mr. Chimbwe said Lundazi council had requested for the re-location of the airstrip because the current one was situated right in the center of town, and was being encroached by the local people such that it was not being used for its intended purpose, a situation, the Civil Aviation saw as a danger to the community.
“There was a lot of abuse in the central business center where the old Airstrip is located. “It was not only encroachment but also motorists, pedestrian and cyclists posed a danger and it could not be extended in anyway,” he said.
Mr. Chimbwe explained that the plans to construct a new Airstrip was agreed by Lundazi council and Chipata Civil Aviation and alternative land was found in chief Mphamba area and the construction was done by Zambia National Service (ZNS) at the cost of K1,75777.99.
He said the new runway was about 1.2 by 25 meters and that it was bigger than the old Airstrip. The construction works were completed in July this year and ZNS handed the new Airstrip back to Lundazi council that will soon hand over the project to Civil Aviation so it would begin operations.
Mr. Chimbwe said that Lundazi district was growing very fast and that the new Airstrip would help boost investment in the district.
“They are a number of projects lined up in Lundazi right now and in future Lundazi might have a lot of investors that will be coming through to the district and this airstrip will play a big role in that the investors will be flying direct to Lundazi district,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lundazi district Council Secretary, Mwansa Mumba said he was happy that the new Airstrip had been completed and that plans were under way to turn the old Airstrip into residential plots and that they would also put up other developmental projects such as a shopping mall.
