Zimbabwe’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry has concluded negotiations for a loan facility from China to upgrade Harare International Airport. Inside Travel reports that the $153 million (R2,2bn) loan facility will be made available by China EximBank. 

The Ministry made the announcement on the eve of the renaming of the airport to Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. The airport has capacity for 2,5 million passengers annually and was last expanded and commissioned in 2001.

Dr Joram Gumbo, Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister, said the Chinese government had given the go-ahead for Zimbabwe to start accessing the money. “We are now waiting for the agreement to be signed between the governments of Zimbabwe and China. From our side it’s a done deal and the Chinese government has given us the go-ahead to get the money and start construction.”