MORE than 235 households which have encroached on the land reserved for future expansion of the Lusaka International Airport will be relocated to Palabana in Chongwe District, Communications and Transport Minister Geoffrey Lungwangwa has said.

The squatter township called Mabloko came into existence in the 1960s during the construction of the airport after workers hired by the Ministry of Works and Supply who built the airport decided not to leave their camping site.

The number of households had since risen to more than 235 families and have blocked the airport's planned expansion programme.

Speaking yesterday when he visited the township during his familiarisation tour of the airport, Professor Lungwangwa said there was urgent need to relocate the residents to a safer area.

He said it was dangerous for the residents to live on an illegal settlement and near a place where aircrafts flew because the settlement could disqualify the airport from the international security standards.