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| Sasakwa Luxurious Lodge, one of billionaire Paul Tudor property |
By ADAM IHUCHA
Tanzania has formally unveiled a plan, to construct a
controversial major international airport, next to the Serengeti National Park,
ending nearly six-years of speculations.
An ultra-modern airport, to be built in Mugumu town, nearly
40km northwestern Serengeti, would involve an investment of up to $350 million.
President Jakaya Kikwete says the airport would allow large
jets from across the world to land directly at the heart of Serengeti to offer
holidaymakers a hassle-free trip.
His dream is to create a new gateway to the Tanzania’s
northern tourism circuit and more so open up potential investment opportunities
to the natural resources-rich lake Victoria’s zone.
“The new airport would offer tourists option to either land
in Kilimanjaro or Serengeti international airports” Mr Kikwete said recently.
The Head of the state said that the tourists could land in
Kilimanjaro International airport (KIA) and after visiting Tarangire, Manyara,
Ngorongoro crater and Serengeti game sanctuaries, would use Serengeti
international airport to fly back home and the vice-versa for KIA.
He hopes that the project is going to be the best model to transfer tourism dollars to the ordinary
people.
Transferring dollars from international tourists to poor
people living around tourist destinations has been a major challenge throughout
East Africa and the world.
For instance, lots of dollars are generated from Tanzania`s world-famous northern tourist circuit, but very little trickles into the pockets of ordinary people who live in its vicinity.
While the northern safari circuit covering 300 km. attracts 700,000 tourists with combined revenues of $950million, only 18 percent, equivalent to $171million goes to the communities around, through the multiplier effects.
For instance, lots of dollars are generated from Tanzania`s world-famous northern tourist circuit, but very little trickles into the pockets of ordinary people who live in its vicinity.
While the northern safari circuit covering 300 km. attracts 700,000 tourists with combined revenues of $950million, only 18 percent, equivalent to $171million goes to the communities around, through the multiplier effects.
This reporter is informed that early September the Tanzania
Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) approved the project.
Serengeti District Council Chairman Mr John Ng’oina
confirmed to have got the project go-ahead from TCAA and now they only wait a
nod from the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC).
“We expect NEMC’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
anytime soon to pave way for other crucial steps before
the actual construction takes off” Ng’oima explained.
Sources privy to the issue say an American billionaire and
conservationist, Paul Tudor Jones would foot the construction cost of the
proposed state-of-the-art-airport.
Tudor, a prominent Wall Street tycoon runs a $16million
Five-Star-Africa's luxurious and exclusive lodge at Sasakwa Hill and the three
wildlife rich hunting blocs of Grumeti, Ikorongo and Ikoma covering nearly110,
000 hectares in western Serengeti.
“Billionaire Tudor is willing to bankroll the project not
only because he seeks close tie with the natural endowed country, but the
airport would benefit his business as well since his higher end clients would
be using the airport,” a source hinted.
Analysts say the airport would also be a major boost to a
Tanzania’s new-spirited initiative to increase the number of visitors from
800,000 to 1.6 million in 2015 and double revenue from the current $1.4 billion
to $2.8 billion annually in three years.
Natural Resources and Tourism Deputy Minister, Lazaro
Nyalandu says that the Serengeti airport would ease plight experienced by
tourists who travel for hours by road from KIA to reach the famous game
sanctuary.
“We want to cut down the time spend in travelling and enable
our visitor’s to use more of their precious time enjoying abundant attractions”
Mr Nyalandu explained.
For 53-years now tourists have been landing at KIA, and then
drive for hours on the road covering nearly 300km stretch on their way to
Serengeti.
However, the Friends of Serengeti have so far denounced the
airport construction close to the World Heritage site, saying the project would
attract more human activities near the fragile Serengeti-Mara ecosystem.
“We are deeply concerned about a massive new influx of foreign
tourists to this delicate ecosystem, and contend that airport will pave the way
for unsustainable development of the region,” reads their statement posted in
their website.
Opponents say aircrafts land in the town of Mugumu, which
borders one of the Park’s most congested areas, both in terms of humans and
wildlife, could in a long-run damage the wildlife pattern.
This area is critical to the wildebeest’s annual migration
between Tanzania and Kenya’s Masai Mara Reserve.
Seven years back, conservationists, in collaboration with,
Serengeti National park officials, painstakingly drawn a 10-year comprehensive
General Management Plan (GMP) for the Serengeti.
The GMP doesn’t allow expanding human settlement and
development in the wider ecosystem of Serengeti-Mara.
It notes the extreme impact is in the northwest border of
legendary Serengeti, where is densely settled by
a growing population with number being estimated at 3,329,199 in 2011.
As a result the population has been fuelling poaching, with
Director General of Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), Allan Kijazi putting
between 200 and 300 wildebeests alone are killed annually in western Serengeti.
However, United Nations Conservation Programme (UNEP) and World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) report has a different version, putting the figure of various animals killed annually in Serengeti as high as 200,000.
Such “hard edge areas represent a challenging management
issue, as it is in these areas that people have the greatest adverse impact on
the wildlife values of the ecosystem.”
Serengeti Watch organization says the Plan’s authors did not
even contemplate the devastating impact of an international airport, which
would greatly intensify existing pressures and spawn even more long-term
development.
“Such a facility requires machinery, road infrastructure,
jet fuel, and a steady stream of equipment, spares, and supplies to support it”
Serengeti Watch wrote on its website.
In its ‘Stop Serengeti International Airport’ online
campaign says Jumbo jets landing near the Park would certainly change the
Serengeti beyond recognition.
“If one were to even be contemplated, a far more sensible
location would be somewhere to the south of the park, where the new southern
route around the park is to be located” it added.
Immediate former Chief Executive Secretary of Tanzania
Association of tour operators (TATO) Mustapha Akuunay overwhelmingly commended
the government for the novel idea of constructing the airport near Serengeti.
“Honestly, we support the project by 100 percent and we
commend the government for this particular decision because it would create
more travel options for holidaymakers” noted Mr Akuunay, a Lawyer by profession
and MPs from opposition.
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