VP to handover two planes for NIT’s aviation studies today
DAR ES SALAAM: VICE-PRESIDENT Dr Philip Mpango is expected to hand over two single-engine aircraft, Cessna Skyhawk 172 to the National Institute of Transport (NIT) in its ambitious plan to start offering courses for pilots locally.
The Cessna Skyhawk piston is the most popular single-engine aircraft ever built and has achieved a reputation for being the ultimate training aircraft. This will attract more local and international aviation students.
Transport Minister Prof Makame Mbarawa told journalists in Dar es Salaam on Monday that in fulfilling the basic requirements of the aviation training programmes, the two aircraft made by US’s Textron Aviation Company will be handed over today as part of fulfilling NIT’s ambitious plan to start offering courses for pilots locally.
“The Six-Phase Government under President Samia Suluhu Hassan will continue supporting the NIT to enable it continue providing enough manpower to save the transport sector,” the minister said.
On his part, Ministry of Transport Deputy Director for Transport Services Biseko Chiganga said the government has given NIT the land at Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) to build a hanger that will be used for aviation studies, including training pilots.
“NIT will build a flight school at KIA and in the meantime the transport institute will use Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) for practical training, he said.
However, NIT is also a beneficiary of the Eastern Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP) launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and three East African countries participating in the project including Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Through the project, NIT received 21.25 million US dollars (almost 50bn/-) in financial support from the World Bank towards supporting aviation studies.
The project supports the development of highly specialised Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes as well as industry-recognised short-term certificate-level training and will target regional priority sectors in transport, energy, manufacturing and ICT.
