■ SÃO TOMÉ & PRÍNCIPE: Newly installed São Tomé Int'l runway lights sabotaged twice; treachery suspected.

Following their installation at the airport in July, the São Toméan airport management company (Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Segurança Aérea - ENASA) has reported that the runway lighting system in place along São Tomé International Airport's runway 11/29 has been vandalized twice in the last two weeks, leading to allegations of sabotage.

■ ANGOLA: Government to spend EUR1.6billion on aviation infrastructure by 2016.

The Angolan government, by 2016, will have invested EUR1.6billion into the construction and rehabilitation of thirty domestic airports, including sixteen new ones, Manuel Ferreira de Ceita, the CEO of Angola's airport and air traffic authority (Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea - ENANA), has said.

■ MOROCCO: Bombardier proceeds with construction of its first African manufacturing facility in Nouaceur.

Canadian aircraft & train manufacturer, Bombardier Aerospace, has held a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on the site of its future manufacturing facility situated in the now-open Midparc Casablanca Free Zone, in Nouaceur, Morocco. The occasion was attended by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, various Bombardier suits as well as Moroccan and Canadian dignitaries.

■ EGYPT: Egyptair's revenue has risen 60% on last year's numbers, Cairo Aerocity to get underway soon: Fadel

Egyptair (MS) generated EGP20.7billion (USD3billion) in revenue for its latest 2012/2013 Financial Year, a rise of 63% on that recorded for 2011/2012, Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation, Abdel Aziz Fadel, has announced. Speaking in Cairo outlining the current state of Egypt's civil aviation industry, Mr Fadel did however concede that, despite the rise in revenue, the airline was still struggling to turn a profit as it is saddled with EGP11.5billion (USD1.7billion) in debt.

■ LIBYA: LYCAA awards Italy's ENAV, TechnoSky, ATC overhaul and upgrade contracts.

The Libyan Civil Aviation Authority (مصلحة الطيران المدني‎ - LYCAA) has awarded L'Ente Nazionale di Assistenza al Volo (ENAV), the Italian state-owned company specializing in air navigation services together with its subsidiary Techno Sky, two contracts for the supply of consultancy, technical and training services to assist in the modernisation of the LYCAA's systems and its organisational and regulatory processes.

■ ANGOLA: Menongue International Airport to come online before 2014 - Ceitas.

Manuel Ceitas, the CEO of Angola's airport and air traffic authority (Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea - ENANA), says that Comandante Kuenha International Airport, situated in the near-central Angolan town of Menongue in Cuando Cubango Province, could become operational before the end of this year given that its rehabilitation and expansion works are almost complete after nearly 6 years of work.

► SOUTH SUDAN: (Pics) Rwandair begins its 3x weekly Kigali - Juba service.

Rwanda's national carrier, Rwandair (WB), launched its long awaited flights to the South Sudanese capital, Juba with its maiden flight on Saturday, September 21, 2013. The 3x weekly flights operate on-board a CRJ900.

■ CONGO (KINSHASA): RVA, Welthungerhilfe sign $15mln contract to rehabilitate Goma Airport runway.

After the successful issuance of a tender in August, German NGO Welthungerhilfe (German for "World Hunger Aid") and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's air navigation services and airport management provider, Regie des Voies Aériennes (RVA), have signed a USD15million contract to rehabilitate 500m of Goma International Airport's runway 18/36, previously covered with hardened lava.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: New $41mln Somerset East mini-Aerotropolis to be completed next year.

The town of Somerset East in the province of the Eastern Cape in South Africa will next year begin operating a new ZAR413million (USD40.9million) regional airport aimed at boosting the region's connectivity and economic profile.

■ SOMALIA: Turkey's Favori LLC to assume control of Mogadishu Aden Adde International Airport.

Favori LLC, a consortium of Turkish construction firms Çetin Group and Kozuva with USD3million capital, is set to assume the management of Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport with effect from September 15, the airport's current manager, Ali Mohamed Ibrahim, has said. The news comes after months of speculation about the future of a 10-year concession awarded to Dubai-based firm, SKA Air & Logistics, in 2010. 

■ TOGO: Lomé-Tokoin Airport upgrade works to be completed next year; opening due in 4Q 2014.

Expansion works at Lomé's Tokoin Airport, also known as l’Aéroport International Gnassingbé Eyadèma (AIGE), are expected to be completed within a year with an official opening scheduled for December 2014, Colonel Gnama Latta, the Director General of Togo's civil aviation authority l'Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile du Togo (ANAC), has said.

► MADAGASCAR: MTA opens own aerodrome at Bekopaka; eyes twice weekly Antananarivo, Morondava flights.

Madagascar Trans Air, a private small-prop based Malagasy operator, has opened its own airport near the western town of Bekopaka. The facility will help stimulate local tourism trade with the capital, Antananarivo, now just 75minutes away and Morondava now only 30 minutes away by air.

■ LIBYA: Plans to switch ops from Tripoli International to Mitiga prove unfeasible; TIP to remain open.

Libyan Ministry of Transport plans to close Tripoli International Airport for a three-month long period from October to December in order to effect a much-needed runway upgrade project, have been put on hold after Tripoli Mitiga Airport's handling capacity was found to be inadequate.

■■ MAURITIUS: New Terminal 2 at SSR International Airport to be ready by August.

Built and ultimately to be managed on behalf of the Mauritian Government by Aeroports de Paris in collaboration with China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the new Terminal 2 at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in Plaisance, Mauritius is slated to be operational by early 2013. The new terminal is designed by ADPi, Architects and Engineers and Alain Davy, Architect. Built at a cost of MUR11billion (USD260million), 85 per cent of project is to be financed by a loan from the EXIM Bank of China to the Mauritius Port Authority at a concessionary rate of 2% for a period of 15 years.

■ CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE): Second module at Brazzaville Maya-Maya International set to become operational.

The second module of the terminal building at Brazzaville's Maya-Maya International Airport is set to come online shortly, the Congolese Minister at the Presidency for Spatial Planning, Jean Jacques Bouya, has disclosed. The works are part of the government's plan to develop Brazzaville into a strong regional hub with modern facilities.

► SOUTH AFRICA: Airlink, FedAir, Lion Sands consortium wins Skukuza upgrade contract; flights due in March 2014.

SA Airlink (4Z) is set to launch direct flights to Skukuza airport in the Kruger National Park, commencing March 2014. This will see the re-establishment of scheduled air services to one of South Africa's most visited tourist attractions, following the closure of its airport to airline traffic over a decade ago. In 2001, Skukuza Airport's licence was not renewed by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) after it failed to comply with aviation regulations pertaining to the operation of a commercial aerodrome.

■ MAYOTTE: New terminal at Dzaoudzi Pamandzi Int'l Airport due to open in February 2014.

The archipelago of Mayotte, a French overseas department located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, will unveil its new passenger terminal at Dzaoudzi Pamandzi International Airport in February 2014, with works expected to be complete by the end of the year. Originally due to come online this year, delays have been experienced owing to what the Mahoran press have described as "logistical difficulties."

■ SOUTH AFRICA: Gauteng calls for study on potential new international airport for Johannesburg as part of 25-Year Transport Plan.

The Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Dr Ismail Vadi, this week released the "25-Year Integrated Transport Master Plan (ITMP25)" for Ekurhuleni, the local authority and government for Gauteng, South Africa's former East Rand area, to ensure province-wide mobility in future for all residents. The 25 year plan, developed by an inter-disciplinary team of experts led by Gautrain CEO Jack van der Merwe, provides an assessment of the current transport and land-use challenges. It also forecasts economic and population growth scenarios, which have been used to plan the future transport needs and solutions in the province. Pertaining to aviation, the Plan states that OR  Tambo  International  Airport  will  remain the main airport serving Gauteng and South Africa but notes that "a thorough study should be done to determine the feasibility and, if found necessary, land should be reserved to develop a second major airport in Gauteng which can accommodate wide body aircraft up to and including the A380."

■ CONGO (KINSHASA): MONUSCO upgrades Bunia Airport for night time ops.

The regional director of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Martin Kobler, has officially inaugurated new air traffic control equipment for the international airport at its headquarters in Bunia, in the eastern Ituri region of Orientale Province of the DRC.

■ SOMALIA: Somaliland reopens Hargeisa International Airport following runway works.

Egal International Airport, the airport that serves Hargeisa, the capital of the self-proclaimed autonomous region of Somaliland, has reopened following the successful completion of USD4.6million in renovation and upgrade work to its runway, aprons and taxiways.