Completion of JNIA Terminal 3 now set for May 2019

Dar es Salaam. Completion of the construction of Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) Terminal 3 in Dar es Salaam has been extended to May 2019 instead of December this year as earlier scheduled.

The cost of the project has also shot up by 30 million euros (Sh83.3 billion).

A member of the Engineers Registration Board (ERB), Mr Samuel Marwa, said yesterday that a number of factors have contributed to the project delay.

These include changes in the original design, legislation and taxation regime, as well as the need for fresh dialogue between the Fifth Phase government of President John Magufuli and the contractor, BAM International of the Netherlands.

Mr Marwa was briefing journalists shortly after ERB board members engaged in closed-door discussions with the project contractor when they were on an inspection tour of the construction site.

This is the second time that the project works has been extended from the initial projections. Construction was earlier scheduled to end in December 2017, but was pushed to December 2018 – and, now, to May 2019.

A total of 254 million euros (Sh705.3 billion) was earlier budgeted to be spent on the project which is being executed by BAM International as the contractor, and Arab Consulting Engineers (ACE) of Egypt as project consultant.

Apart from the 254 million euros in actual construction costs, the project also gobbles up another $4 million in supervision costs. In view of all this – and following the changes in the employment legislation and tax laws – the construction costs were bound to rise, Mr Marwa said.

This is also especially talking into consideration that construction work was suspended during the dialogue involving the parties, while the workers continued to be paid regardless.

“The work has been completed to the tune of 70 per cent, and we believe that the rest will be completed within the set time,” he said.

Noting that construction of blocks had been completed, and what largely remain are complicated and delicate mechanical and electrical installations which need to be handled most carefully.

For her part, the ERB deputy chairperson, Ms Gemma Modu, has said that ERB was informed during the meeting with the contractors that the biggest challenge facing the project was the lack of essential building materials in Tanzania.

In view of this, Ms Modu said, the project had to be held up as building materials of the quality approved by the contractor were imported.

In that regard, a BAM official whose name was not obtained immediately said that the security features installed at Terminal 3 were “the best in the world”.

He said that the airport will have a Security Level 5 status that ensures maximum security for passengers.

“When a passenger’s luggage is suspicious at Level One, it would undergo thorough inspection through the security features installed. But, if the luggage is found to have some minerals, it will be taken to Level Two to identify the minerals. If suspicion persists, then will be taken to Level Three to be opened for visual inspection,” the BAM official explained.