Government
promotes infrastructure development with ‘new gateway’ to country
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea – October 15, 2012 –Equatorial Guinea marked
its Independence Day October 12 with the inauguration of a new airport, the
President Obiang Nguema International Airport, located at Mongomeyen, in the mainland
province of Wele-Nzas. This is the country’s fifth international airport,
designed to connect the nation’s geographically isolated areas to the main
population
centers.
“This new
international airport, the fifth in our country, is a new gateway to the
Republic of Equatorial Guinea,” said John Nko Mbula, Minister of Public Works
and Infrastructure, “and its opening marks a new milestone in the economic and social development
of Equatorial Guinea.”
President
Obiang Nguema Mbasogo presided over the inauguration.
Minister of Civil
Aviation Fausto Abeso Fuma, called the new airport the best equipped in all of
Central Africa.
It has a runway
3,000 meters long that includes three turning loops, and it features an access
road and new-generation navigation equipment. The runway can handle aircraft in
the Boeing 747-400 class. The new airport took 72 months to complete and was
fully funded by the Government of Equatorial Guinea, costing over 190 billion
CFA francs.
It is one of
many recent government initiatives intended to promote economic and
infrastructure development throughout the region. In addition to the President
Obiang Nguema International Airport, the government of Equatorial Guinea also
supervised the development of the new AU
headquarters in Addis Ababa as well as the tourism
complex, Elik Melen, in Bata.
