The government is planning to expand the arrivals hall at
the Terminal II of the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in a bid to
increase its passenger holding capacity in one go.
This was revealed yesterday by deputy minister of Works,
Transport and Communications, Mr Edwin Ngonyani, in a joint press conference
with his counterparts from ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr Ramo
Makani, and Mr Hamad Masauni from ministry of Home Affairs.
The three deputies visited the JNIA to inspect operations
and analyse challenges that need immediate intervention by the government.
"The major challenges that we've noticed, among
others, are
the small size of the arrivals' hall and shortage of man power at
JNIA's Immigration department. These, in turn, cause delays in passenger
clearance. I assure you that the government will address this with immediate
effect," he said.
Mr Ngonyani added that in a bid to reduce queues by
international arrivals who apply for visas on entry, he would consult with the
ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation so that the service
will be provided at Tanzania's embassies abroad. For his part, Mr Makani
reiterated the government resolve to promote tourism, a move, he said, would
push growth of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
"We shall focus on promoting Tanzania as unique
tourist destination, put in place an enabling environment and upgrading the
supporting infrastructure," he said.
About shortage of staff at the Immigration department,
the ministry of Home Affairs pledged to deal with the challenge by adding more
officers and modern equipment to easy the clearance process.
The three deputy ministers said they would extend their
visit to all entry points across country and ensure all challenges were
addressed as part of efforts to attract more visitors to the country.
Source: allAfrica