Kigali, 17 May 2021- Minister of Infrastructure, Hon. Claver Gatete officiated the opening of a 5-day Executive Workshop of the Union of Central and West African Airport Managers, (UGAACO), bringing together Executives and Senior Managers in Airports from 10 Countries of Central and West Africa.

The UGAACO workshop aims to improve skills for the efficient management of airports and ensuring an appropriate degree of global standardization and quality leadership competencies through experience exchange on airport management challenges.

Rwanda has formally expressed interest to join the UGAACO and the process that needs to be undertaken has been completed and Rwanda will be officially accepted in June 2021.

In his opening remarks, Minister Claver Gatete commended UGAACO for tremendous achievements that focus on the promotion of the development of airport activity for the benefit of all its members, making all airport managers aware of the deficiencies in airport ICAO compliance and jointly work together to address them.

Minister Claver Gatete mentioned that COVID virus has brought about African Airports closures in all countries. With new safe distancing measures and COVID Tests, slowly, gradually we will make our way to the new normal.

“There is no doubt that COVID is the most serious crisis the world has faced in a long time”, he said.

“The Virus has already changed our world, and we have to be prepared for more changes to come. We must be prepared to live an acutely changed world like public health measures of wearing masks, upholding safe distancing rules, and avoiding crowded places. These will continue to be part of everyday life” He added. 

He said that that the pandemic has reminded us that there is always going to be a need for working together in order to get the best of everything working together.

Minister Gatete said that Rwanda as member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Airport Council International, has registered crucial airport achievements that are sustaining the growth of aviation in Rwanda, dispite COVID -19 pandemic which brought much of  the aviation industry to a standstill.

“Heavy investment has been put in expansion and rehabilitation of existing airport infrastructure as well as construction of a new international airport” he said adding that “Separation of Regulator from Service Providers was effective from February 2018 and as result Rwanda’s Effective Implementation of ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) which was at 23% in 2007 has reached 83,9% from 2019”.

He noted that the collaboration with Governemnt’s partners led to the high standards of leveraging Drone technology to improve the health infrastructure and better the lives of our populace.

“Today, we are able to timely provide blood from central reservoirs to many formerly inaccessible Health Centers in Rwanda”, he said.

Minister of Infrastructure asked Airports Executives and Senior Managers to critically understand the impact on air transport and provide participants genuine strategies that will not only enrich but ensure that you finally develop airport study cases that will meet efficient and effective Airport Management.

UGAACO is currently managing 27 Airports in Central and West Africa. It has a mandate of promoting the development of airport activity for the benefit of members, making all airport managers aware of the deficiencies in airport ICAO compliance& jointly work together to address them.