By Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK – The fire truck crisis, which resulted in the Hosea Kutako International Airport being downgraded from category nine to five because of insufficient fire trucks, has finally been put to bed after Namibia Airports Company commissioned 11 fire trucks at the airport last week Thursday.
The trucks, valued at N$89 million, will be used for fire and rescue operations at all NAC-managed airports countrywide. Not all trucks were on display at the airport as some have already been dispatched to the regions.
Of the new fleet, two trucks will be stationed at Hosea Kutako International Airport, three at Walvis Bay Airport while Ondangwa, Rundu, Katima Mulilo, Lüderitz, Keetmanshoop and Eros Airports will receive a truck each.
In a speech read on his behalf by his deputy Kilus Nguvauva, Minister of Works and Transport Erkki Nghimtina said Namibia, as a signatory to the ICAO Convention, has to create an enabling environment in support of air service development to ensure compliance with local and international practices. “Government would like to continue seeing board and management to join hands to address prevailing shortcomings across the organisation to ensure excellent service delivery,” the minister said.
The company is constructing new terminal buildings at Ondangwa and Walvis Bay for a combined N$179 million.
Nghimtina claims the new terminal buildings will meet the increasing demand of air traffic movement and enhance air travel experience through various services on offer.
NAC board chairperson, Ndeuhala Katonyala, said the company has established a Safety and Security Compliance Board sub-committee that will serve as a strategic organ to guide the organisation on policy formulation and to monitor the implementation of a safety management system and security programmes at all airports.
Katonyala said the lessons learnt during last year’s downgrade at Hosea Kutako International Airport have improved NAC’s capacity to meet the compliance needs of the aviation industry.
Once construction work is complete, Katonyala said, the coastal-based Walvis Bay Airport will be a fully-fledged international airport with a special focus on cargo transportation and it will be equipped with the necessary infrastructure in order to facilitate air transportation of sea-based products.