HARARE, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's flagship airport, the Harare International Airport, was on Thursday renamed Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in honor of the country's veteran leader Robert Mugabe.
The airport was built in the 1950s during the colonial era and was later upgraded and commissioned in 2001. It has one of the longest runways in Africa, measuring 4,725 kilometers.
It has a handling capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year and the government is planning to further upgrade and expand it to increase its capacity to 6 million passengers per year and turn it into a regional air transport hub.
Officiating at the event, President Mugabe thanked the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development for honoring him through renaming the airport after him.
"I want to thank most sincerely for the honor bestowed on me by renaming the Harare International Airport to Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport," Mugabe said. "It is indeed a great honor for me and it is indeed a great gesture."
He said the honor was a source of pride not only for him but his family and the entire nation.
He reaffirmed the government's commitment to the development of the country's air transport systems to facilitate economic development.
His government, he added, was taking steps to liberalize the country's air space in line with the Yamoussoukuro Decision of 1999.
The airport becomes the second to be renamed after the country's leaders following the Bulawayo Airport which was upgraded from domestic to international airport and renamed Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport after the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo in 2001.
