The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter
THERE is great excitement and anticipation among villagers and tourism operators alike at the reopening of the Binga airstrip, as they expect an up-tick in business once it is open again, with ongoing renovation work set to be concluded on Tuesday.
The airstrip, which has brought a tourism boom recently in Binga, was closed on October 4 as the District Development Fund (DDF) gave it a timely makeover.
The rehabilitation of the Binga Airstrip, alongside others in the country was started last year by the Government as part of efforts to improve accessibility so that tourism hotspots in remote areas could start contributing to the country’s economy in a meaningful way.
With such attractions as the hot springs, wildlife and some of economic activities including fishing, boating, crocodile farming, cultural activities, among others, Binga is regarded as a prime destination sitting on potentially lucrative untapped tourism opportunities.
The Second Republic has taken the initiative to improve the airstrip as part of wider efforts to make the area attractive through a number of projects aimed at ensuring that Binga is competitive and part of the greater corridor linked to the Victoria Falls Special Economic Zone.
When Sunday News visited the airstrip on Friday, workers from the DDF were hard at work putting final touches on the airstrip.
In an interview, DDF Matabeleland North Roads manager Mr Jacob Ndlovu said officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) were expected to make an assessment of the airstrip on Wednesday.
“We expect to have finished all the work here by Tuesday because we are expecting officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe to come and assess the airstrip for reopening on Wednesday,” he said.
Mr Ndlovu said they had undertaken the renovation works after seeing the heavy flow of traffic through the airstrip.
“We are here fixing the Binga airstrip and this is a project that we have undertaken because here in Binga we have a lot of dignitaries that come to access the resources and amenities that the town has to offer.
Some come here to catch fish, some come here to catch boat cruises while others come here specifically for the crocodile farm. Some come here for fishing competitions and all these visitors usually come by plane.
“Despite the heavy volume of visitors, we get coming here, our airstrip was now old and we did not have money to fix it. However, we have now received funding and what we have done so far is close the potholes that had popped up on the airstrip.
We have also closed the cracks that had started to emerge beneath the surface of the runaway. Right now, we are in the final process of fixing the airstrip and that entails laying 40mm of asphalt which is going to make the airstrip usable for airplanes coming through here,” he said.
Mr Ndlovu said that the people of Binga were anxiously waiting for the reopening of the airstrip, as it was a crucial part of the local economy.
“As it is, we are now putting the finishing touches on the airstrip, as you can see some of our workers are now putting the marking. Once we finish the overlay, then the job is done and we can once again reopen the airstrip because we had stopped airplanes landing here from 4 to 28 October.
During this time, our tourists could not land at the Binga airstrip and that is something that has a big impact here because on a good day we can have as many as four to five airplanes coming through here.
Workmen put final touches on the Binga Airstrip which is being rehabilitated by the District Development Fund (DDF)
That volume of traffic is actually what has inspired us to work even harder and make sure that work on the airstrip is concluded in a timely fashion,” he said.
In addition to the runway, Ndlovu said that they were hard at work fixing other structures, including a sitting area for tourists that would be waiting to go to their next destination. A control tower at the airstrip is also under renovation.
“We are also renovating our structures here because as you know, Binga is a very hot place so we need to finish constructing a shelter which will house our visitors while they wait for their airplane or when they have been dropped off and they are waiting to be collected.
That is why we are renovating these structures because we want the entire place to be habitable which will then improve the experience of our visitors,” he said.
The proprietor of Mlibizi Zambezi Resort, Mr Max Chigubu said that as tourism operators, they were waiting for the reopening of the airport with great anticipation.
“The mere sound of an aeroplane brings great excitement around here because you know that a lot of people are going to benefit from the tourists visiting. The visitors might not even be coming to your place directly but the money that they bring certainly trickles down to the rest of the local economy,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by Ms Belita Muleya, who said that the mere sight of an airplane landing at the strip was received warmly by villagers.
“Just the sound of an airplane is very exciting for us because it means that tourists are coming and that is something that is great for business. The airstrip has become a great source of joy for us because it affects how smoothly our lives run.
While it is closed like this, we get very worried but we are happy that there are developments taking place there and it shall soon reopen because it brings in income,” he said.
