Somaliland : Egal International Airport re-opened (+Photos)

September 1, 2013

Egal International Airport was re-opened yesterday after the extension of the runways and the completion of other maintenance works, the local press has reported .
The president of Somaliland officially launched the re-opening of the airport in a ceremony that was attended by ministers and other respected persons from the public.The extension of the runway and other related works took more than a year and the project has been carried out by China Horn Group contractors and funded by Kuwait .

The airport runways can now withstand jumbo jet landings and other large passenger or cargo planes. The extension of the airport included addition of facilities to the departure and arrival terminals with CCTV cameras and computerized checking system as well as detectors and other security apparatus. A VIP lounge , guest villas and enhanced parking areas were among the additions to the airport.

The new look of the airport . Photo credit of Waheen

Egal International airport formerly Hargiesa airport which was opened in 1957 by the duke of Gloucester was originally a small facility built during the colonial period. The Airport was expanded and modernized in the 1980s by the Socialist administration so as to accommodate larger aircraft and offer more flight destinations.
During the SNM war against the dictatorship of the socialist regime in the early 1990s, the airport’s infrastructure was significantly damaged. However, the facility was gradually rehabilitated over the next several years by the consecutive Somaliland administrations .

The airport was later renamed to Egal International Airport after the veteran politician Mohammad Ibrahim Egal. Egal served as Somalia’s Prime Minister in the early 1960s during the country’s post-independence civilian administration, before later becoming Somaliland’s second President.

The new reconstruction of Egal International Airport was funded by the Government of Kuwait and is expected to make it possible for jumbo airplanes to land in the capital. All flights to the country were diverted during the construction period to Berbera airport which was built by the Soviet Union in the seventies . Berbera airport has the longest runways in Africa.
Somaliland seceded from Somalia in May 1991 after the failed union in July 1960 . The country has since then held 2 local elections , one parliamentary election and two presidential elections.