How NAM delegates will be handled at Entebbe airport
The Speke Resort Munyonyo Convention Centre in Kampala where the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Group of 77 (G-77) + China summits will be held. PHOTO | ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Journalists were, however, first denied entry into the convention centre where the meetings will be held because the hotel management had reportedly not been informed of their visit.
The government has put in place a special team to handle delegates attending the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Group of 77 (G-77) + China summits at Entebbe International Airport.
Between 1,000 and 1,500 delegates are expected to start arriving in the country through the airport starting tomorrow ahead of the summits which will run back-to-back with NAM running from January 15 to 20 and G-77 from January 21 to 23.
Addressing the media during a guided tour of some of the facilities which will be used by the delegates during the summits yesterday, Mr Ayub Sooma, the director of airports and aviation security at Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), said everything is in place to ensure that delegates are smoothly ushered in.
“Presidents and other heads of State who will use private charters will land at the VVIP (very, very important person) section where heads of State and unions always land. It is at this point where they will be picked by convoys and then driven to their respective hotels where they will be accommodated, or the summit venue,” he said.
Other presidents and heads of state who will use commercial aircrafts, he said, will also be picked up at the airport tarmac by a convoy and taken to the VVIP section “before being taken to their respective destinations”.
“Other delegates, who are not among the two earlier mentioned categories, will go through our normal clearance process but we have put in place a special team of people who will handle them and ensure faster clearance,” he said.
“We are 100 percent ready to receive NM delegates. Yesterday (January 10), we made a dry run, in addition to the one we did on December 17. We rehearsed everything and ensured that we have proper delegates and baggage management, and enough parking space that can accommodate between 66 and 100 aircrafts,” he added.
He noted that the airport has also prepared more than 20 convoys which are ready to transport the guests, especially presidents, to their respective destinations.
Convention centre
During the tour, reporters were also taken to Speke Resort Munyonyo where the meetings will take place.
Journalists were, however, first denied entry into the convention centre where the meetings will be held because the hotel management had reportedly not been informed of their visit.
They were later allowed to have a quick look from the entrance to the convention centre.
The hotel proprietor, Mr Sudhir Ruparelia, who was present at the site, also declined to speak to reporters on the progress of the convention centre.
On the outside, however, various activities were going on including construction works, planting trees and flowers, and cleaning.
Roadworks update
On the NAM roadworks, the communication officer of the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra), Mr Allan Ssempebwa, said the Kampala Flyover was 93 percent complete.
“We are done with all major routes that will transport the guests including the one of Kajansi to Munyonyo Spa, the main route leading delegates to the summit venue where we have beautified, as well as established enough lights,” he said.
