*Us Air Force Upgrades Arba Minch to Int'l Airport*
The US Air Force is upgrading Arba Minch Airport, which serves as a
domestic airport in Southern Regional State, after signing an agreement
with the Ethiopian government, in November 2010, reliable diplomatic
sources disclosed to Fortune.
Located five kilometres from the town's centre, the airport first become
operational in November 1998. It has a runway dimension of 2,800 metres by
45 metres, but lacks crucial facilities such as fire fighting equipment,
aeronautical MET, and air traffic services are not available. However, it
can land aircraft the size of a Boeing 737.
The US Air Force is extending the runway and upgrading the airport to
international standards with modern facilities, according to these
diplomatic sources. When completed, the upgraded airport, one of 12
airports in Ethiopia of which four are international, will have the
capacity to land a Boeing C-17 Globemaster, a large military transport
aircraft that has been developed for the US Air Force since the beginning
of the 1980s.
No official statement was made from either side about why the US Air Force
is spending tens of millions of dollars to upgrade the airport in Arba
Minch, located 505km south of Addis Abeba.
However, the area holds regional military strategic importance for the US
due to the high threat of terrorism in neighbouring Somalia and a concern
for possible regional instability following the expected independence of
Southern Sudan, the diplomatic sources told Fortune.
The mobilisation of construction materials and clearing the area of wild
bushes by Orchids Construction, a subcontracted local construction firm,
was underway last week. Heavy-duty graders and four excavators were
unearthing the area near the airport, while 20 Nissan Diesel (UD) trucks
could be seen carrying mounds earth out of the project compound.
A mountain of wood, piled up after clearing from the construction site, has
been visible on the opposite side of the airport's gates, according to eye
witnesses in the town Fortune spoke to. The project site is under heavy
military guard, with US troops seen patrolling the area, according to these
eye witnesses.
The project, estimated to cost not more than 50 million dollars, will be
good for the economy of the area that is known as a tourist destination. At
the time of writing, all the rooms at Paradise Lodge, a private lodge, were
rented out to expatriates working on the project, while the lodge is
extending its 18 tukul rooms and facilities with new constructions
underway, according to residents in Arba Minch
Received on Sat May 04 2013 - 23:10:07 EDT
