Government hands Jinja Airfield to a private investor to give it a facelift

Government has handed the airfield in Jinja to a private developer to give it a facelift.

According to Waiswa Bageya the permanent secretary Ministry of Works and Transport, the airfield has been lying idle for decades hence the decision to grant Vine Air Flight Academy a lease of 25 years to develop it.

Despite being strategically located at Kimaka village in Jinja City, the airfield rarely attracts any air traffic.

"This airfield had gone to the dogs but we are happy that Vine Air Flight Academy have breathed life into it and now it is a beehive of activities going on here," Bageya said

He also revealed that government shall give the private firm support to ensure that the airfield is developed to international standards.

According to the architectural design, a complex comprising of lecture rooms, a hangar, immigration office among others shall be constructed in the first phase.

The airfield which is now a training ground for flight pilots and captains is expected to be instrumental in producing the much needed human resource in the aviation sector which is one of the areas the country is lagging behind.

The lead trainer at the academy, Dodd Katendeigwa encouraged government to amend some aviation policies especially those regarding the licensing of flight students.

He urged government to tarmac the 1.8Km runway of the airfield

The minister of Cooperatives Fredrick Ngobi Gume applauded Vine Air Flight Academy.