Filipe Nyusi Airport: A $60 Million Investment for 30 passengers a year
The Filipe Nyusi Airport in Chongoene, Gaza province, is a monumental work that symbolizes a striking mismatch between ambition and reality. Inaugurated in November 2021, with a cost exceeding 60 million dollars, largely financed by Chinese capital, the airport aimed to boost air traffic in the region, with a capacity for about 220 thousand passengers annually. However, the reality paints a starkly different picture: only 30 passengers have used its facilities in the past year.
This sharp contrast raises serious questions about the viability and strategic planning of the infrastructure. At the inauguration ceremony, optimistic voices like the then Minister of Transport and Communications, Janfar Abdulai, and the President of the Republic, whose name the airport bears, expressed confidence in the project's potential. However, time has told a story of underutilization and disappointment.
Francisco Bambo, head of the Operations and Migration Department, confirmed that since January this year, the number of passengers did not exceed 30. In response, the current Minister of Transport and Communications, Mateus Magala, promised to revitalize the infrastructure, with expectations of positive changes in the short term.
A potential solution emerged from the demand of Mozambican miners in South Africa, suggesting that the airport could facilitate their return to the country. Américo Muchanga, President of the Board of Directors of the company Aeroportos de Moçambique, views this initiative as part of a broader plan to make the airport profitable.
The case of the Filipe Nyusi Airport is not only a reflection of the discrepancy between expectations and reality but also a warning of the need for deeper and more realistic assessments in the planning of large infrastructures. This airport, now dubbed 'ghost', represents a challenge and a reminder of the importance of careful management of resources and projects, avoiding their transformation into mere symbols of waste and lost illusions.
TORRE
