(eTN) – Information about an upcoming major rehabilitation and modernization of the Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) has been confirmed. The project is set to get underway by January 2013.

Now just over 40 years old, the airport was inaugurated in 1971, and has been without a single upgrade since then. Finally, therefore, this key aviation facility is moving with the times, it seems, and is following the example of other regional airports with regular international connections to provide better infrastructure, both airside and landside.

After the financing is seemingly in the bag, the planning and design stage will commence first, before the plans can then be advertised for tendering. Then after selecting a main contractor, work can then commence by early 2013. It is understood that the Dutch government will be offering a partial grant for the project.

Traffic through JRO is expected to top 650,000 passengers this year, stretching the airport’s capacity during rush hour to the limit, while airlines have been complaining about the state of the runways, taxiway, and apron, all of which are due to be resurfaced completely, with another taxiway being constructed to increase capacity.

Kilimanjaro International Airport is located between the municipalities of Moshi and Arusha, and it is here that many of the tourists visiting Tanzania commence their safaris to the Northern national parks of Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, and the Serengeti, but also, of course, to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, which towers in the distance over the airport on clear days for all to see.