An archipelago at the crossroads of four
continents needs first-class connections. Rising
to this challenge has resulted in Africa’s most
sophisticated air traffic control system and
plans for new airports.
By the end of 2006 Cape Verde will have four
international airports in addition to smaller
airports on all of its inhabited islands, according
to Mario Lopes (INTERVIEW),
Chairman of ASA
(Aeroportos E Segurança Aérea),
the Cape Verdean aviation authority. Progress
towards this goal surged forward in October
of this year with the opening of the Praia International
Airport, a project which had been on the drawing
boards since the mid-eighties. This achievement
was in addition to the successful modernization
of the country’s air traffic control system
carried out over the past few years, which has
resulted in what is now the most sophisticated
system in operation in Africa. Keenly aware
of the potential of Cape Verde’s aviation
sector and the positive impact it can have on
the country’s development, ASA and Mr.
Lopes have spent a great deal of effort in bringing
about these positive developments and continue
to press forward with objectives aimed at creating
a world-class sector both in safety and volume.
“Transport is fundamental for Cape Verde,”
explains Mr. Lopes. “We are an archipelago
in the middle of the Atlantic, halfway between
Europe, America and Africa. Our diaspora is
numerous and spread all around the world. All
these factors make air transportation a fundamental
element for the economic and social progress
of the country.”
|
|
|
ASA, the
national aviation authority, has carried
out a highly successful continuous modernization
program over the last few years.
|
|
|
Until this year, Cape Verde’s only international
airport, Amilcar Cabral, was located on the
island of Sal, where it has contributed significantly
to charter tourism. The opening of the Praia
airport is expected to boost tourism on the
larger and more southerly island of Santiago.
New beach resorts and luxury hotels were already
under construction there before the opening
of the airport in the nearby coastal village
of São Francisco, located roughly 9 miles
northeast of the capital, Praia. The Praia airport
is expected to handle at least half of Cape
Verde’s international traffic and to help
establish the country as a regional hub for
trans-Atlantic flights. The other two international
airports in the country will be created as a
result of expansion on existing airports on
the islands of São Vicente and Boa Vista
next year.
“Our objective is to be useful to Cape
Verde and to be a pillar for the development
of the country,” says Mr. Lopes, who believes
that tourism is the industry of the future for
the country. He expects the São Vicente
airport to contribute to the development of
the northwest region of the archipelago, where
the islands of São Vicente and Santo
Antão are located. “These two islands
have a lot of potential for tourism and the
creation of an airport will, of course, enhance
this. The island of Boa Vista is still virgin
today and it has tremendous potential for tourism,
so the airport there will also have a major
impact.”
ASA also intends to contribute to the development
of Cape Verde as an international transit stop
and to facilitate the growth of Cape Verdean
exports. Mr. Lopes says that the key to bringing
this about is to present the perfect exchange
platform between the archipelago and the rest
of the world, and that means modernization and
safety. To this end, ASA has recently installed
a new radar station on Santo Antão, which
completes its air traffic control triangle with
the other two vertices located on the islands
of Sal and Santiago. It has also implemented
an Oceanic Flight Information Region control
system at Sal Airport, which led to the granting
of Category One status for Cape Verde from the
U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
|
New airports will open
opportunities in tourism, potential which
up to now remains untapped on several
of the islands
|
This means that Cape Verdean carriers can now
fly directly to the U.S. As Mr. Lopes comments:
“ASA is modernizing its services and its
infrastructures, and aims to become more competitive
than other regional competitors like Senegal
and the Canary Islands. In this context, we
have already put in place a modern air traffic
control system. We are the first African country
using this system and we have installed new
communication and navigation systems. We have
also put in place a radar system for local surveillance
in Sal, Praia and Santo Antão. We are
thus covering the entire archipelago.”
Finally, Mr. Lopes adds that there are many
opportunities for interested investors. ASA
is open to public-private partnerships in a
range of areas, including the management of
the new Boa Vista airport. Other opportunities,
according to Mr. Lopes, include airplane maintenance,
VIP services, and cargo operations.
