Guinean President Umaro Sissoco Embaló on Thursday January 4 laid the foundation stone for the construction of the new control tower at Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Bissau and announced “major modernization works” at the airport.
The new control tower will replace, within 12 months, the old infrastructure built during colonial times, noted the Guinean head of state.
Umaro Sissoco Embaló also laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new technical block, a building that will house various support services for Osvaldo Vieira airport.
Both projects will be financed by ASECNA (Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar), an organization made up of 16 African countries, including Guinea-Bissau, and France.
According to ASECNA’s international director-general, Mohamed Moussa, the two infrastructures will cost 4.5 billion CFA francs (around 6.8 million euros).
The Guinean President congratulated ASECNA “for its confidence in Guinea-Bissau” and said that the modernization works at Osvaldo Vieira airport, whose other infrastructures are being built by Turkey, will allow the country to receive flights from “several airlines”.
“I remember a conversation a few months ago with President (Alassane) Ouattara, and I told him that Air Côte D`Voire (Ivory Coast’s national airline) flies to Senegal and Gambia, that it should [also] come to Guinea-Bissau. He told me that, even if we don’t have passengers, it will come and now it’s coming (to Bissau)”, he said.