|
|
Botswana: F/Town Airport to Expand in May
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Voice (Francistown)
25 March 2008
Posted to the web 25 March 2008
Sefhako Sefhako
Francistown
The expansion of Francistown Airport is expected to commence in May and be commissioned by July 2010.
The project aims at improvement of existing airport to facilitate operations of Boeing 737 or equivalent class aircraft.
The design works have already been completed by the consultants and tenders for various packages are in progress.
The Department of Town and Regional Planning, Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism and the Francistown City Council had already given clearance of the project.
The Director of RITES Afrika, Mr Sanjiv Bhushan, told BOPA that the proposed improvements include construction of new runway, which is 3000 metre long and 45 metre wide; a 120 metre long and 15 metre wide link taxi way; and a parking apron with 250 metre by 150 metre dimentions. The length of the runway can be extended by 500 metres in future. The Department of Civil Aviation has appointed RITES Afrika the project consultant to carry out planning, design and supervision of construction.
Mr Bhushan said the airfield lighting facilities with simple approach lighting system had been proposed to facilitate night landing.
He said the proposed buildings would include construction of a new terminal building of 6 100 square metre area, an air traffic control tower of about 34 metres high, new crash fire and rescue building, ablution block, electrical sub-station and residences to accommodate essential civil aviation staff.
The terminal building will cater to the peak passenger flow in the design year 2025, he notes.
"Proposed terminal building is primarily a single storied structure with a basement for baggage, makeup and a mezzanine floor housing offices," he said. "The terminal building is conceptualised as a simple, functional building built in modular concept."
Mr Bhushan said the building plan was so conceived that whenever the expansion of the building was needed, it could be taken up with least disturbance to the operations during such period.
He added that architectural designs for the terminal building had been proposed to provide aesthetic appearance with aluminum cladding and glazing.
The building is provided with separate process areas for international and domestic passengers with a common concourse.
Mr Bhushan also said the terminal building had a concourse at its nucleus, around which rest of the spaces are created.
"The concourse would act as the main assembly, waiting place for the passengers/ visitors."
|
RITES Afrika director further said the central concourse was provided with adequate space for seating, circulation, concessionaires, restaurant among others.
"The concourse is provided with the double height structure in the centre to impart the feeling of space. At the focal point of the concourse a dedicated space is provided with sky light on top. An interesting landscaping is proposed in this area."
Mr Bhushan said the VIP room would be located on the airside face of the building with a dedicated access and associated VIP car parking close to the lounge. BOPA
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 The Voice. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
