Maputo — The Chinese contractor working on the expansion and modernization of Maputo International Airport has claimed that the costs of the job have soared by over 60 per cent, blaming this on the international financial crisis.

When the Mozambican government signed the contract for the airport expansion with the Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Corporation (AFECC) the cost of the work was fixed at 75 million US dollars.

But when President Armando Guebuza visited the airport on Monday, he was told that AFECC has requested an additional sum from the government of between 40 and 50 million dollars.

The work on the airport involves building a new international passenger terminal and a new apron for aircraft taking off from that terminal. The existing terminal will be expanded and will be used as the domestic terminal. There will be a new control tower, and VIP facilities.

The intention of the modernization is to allow the airport to handle 900,000 passengers a year, and, at peak moments, 1,300 passengers an hour.

According to a report in Tuesday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias", Guebuza was informed that the work is slightly behind schedule, due to the late arrival of some of the imported materials.

Nonetheless, AFECC says it is trying to make up for the lost time and hopes to finish the job on time, by June 2010.