Namene Kalili, executive of commercial services at Namibia Airports Company, talked to Observer Money about future plans of the NAC.
For the financial year ended 31 March 2026, revenue grew by 5.5% to N$570 million, profit after tax rose to N$23.4 million (up from N$9.5 million), and passenger traffic reached 1.13 million.
Cash reserves strengthened to N$353.2 million, supported by stronger operating cash flows of N$136.9 million.
Following the strong financial performance, NAC declared a dividend of N$7.8 million to its sole shareholder, the government, marking the organisation’s first dividend in 20 years.
Observer Money (OM): How much will it cost for the NAC to implement its Integrated Strategic Business Plan (ISBP) 2026–2031 and where will this funding come from.
Namene Kalili (NK): The strategic plan will cost N$1.7 billion to implement, which will be financed from a combination of the NAC income, NAC reserves, government grants and bank loan for the construction of NAC’s new headquarters at Eros Airport.
Significant commercial developments will be financed through build-to-operate and transfer arrangements, as advertised in recent print media.
It’s not all rich and mortar, we intend to upskill our staff to be more client centric and develop internal business acumen to run the organisation like a blue-chip organisation.
OM: In terms of strategic priorities, including accelerating infrastructure development, expanding commercial and cargo opportunities, what specific projects will these be and how much will be the projected cost?
NK: Terminal 3 is the single most significant investment over the ISBP horizon, which is being financed through concessional loans on a government-to-government basis.
That will deliver a new airport terminal at Hosea Kutako, that will increase the airport’s passenger capacity to around five million passengers annually.
The airport currently handles one million passengers and has a capacity of two million passengers. With our passenger growth target of 2.5 million passengers by 2031, Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) will reach its capacity by the end of the ISBP and it will be critical that we have new installed capacity to absorb the growing passenger numbers.
We also intend to reposition Rundu and Katima Mulilo Airports into tourism airports that reflect the aesthetics and the decor of the high-end tourism establishments in the Zambezi and Kavango regions.
OM: Do you have plans to expand your airports and if so, give details?
NK: Walvis Bay airport terminal is now 11 years old and has become too small for the current passenger numbers, so we will be looking to increase the arrivals area and also the departure areas.
The airport recently took delivery of a brand new Rausenbaur fire truck and therefore qualifies for fire category 7, same as HKIS. This will allow wide body aircrafts (300 seaters) to land at Walvis Bay and become the alternate airport to HKIS.
Currently, Gaborone is the alternate airport to HKIA, and should there be a reason an aircraft can’t land at HKIA, it is diverted to Gaborone. Thus, airlines have to carry more fuel to be able to divert to Gaborone.
With this upgrade the aircrafts can divert to Walvis Bay, thereby requiring less fuel and it’s easier to transfer from Walvis Bay.
Furthermore, NAC will develop heliports at Luderitz and Walvis Bay to support increased offshore exploration operations and the rising oil and gas industry. This will be coupled with new warehouse facilities to provide logistical support and provide the logistical value chain for the salmon farming industry.
We have a lot of great ideas which we have in our commercial development pipeline, too much to detail today.
OM: Do the international airports meet all the ICAO requirements and what else can be done?
NK: Not 100%, our last evaluation scored 85% for HKIA, 83 for Walvis Bay, 82% for Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo and 79% for Eros, with the NAC working diligently to close the findings and move closer to the 90% mark for next year’s audit.
It is important to know that although a 100% score is nearly impossible to attain, continuous improvement is our internal philosophy to international requirements as this has a direct bearing on passenger and employee safety within our airport environment and we take safety very seriously.
OM: Walvis Bay and HKIA are international airports, any other plans to increase international airports?
NK: We would love to upgrade Katima Mulilo Airport into an international airport, to support the KAZA tourism market that tends to hop between Vic Falls, Maun and Katima Mulilo.
The runway was recently upgraded, the apron was rehabilitated a few months ago and renovation works are underway on the terminal building, which was in pretty bad shape.
With quality finishes, beautiful furniture and modern decor, we believe we can reposition this airport into a tourist airport, attract private charters and high-end tourists to the region through bespoke air travel connectivity.
New private hangars will complete the service offering for those that come in with private jets and aircraft owners operating in the Zambezi region.
OM: Anything else that you wish to add?
NK: NAC has high operating leverage, meaning we have a high fixed cost structure. Growing our revenue to exceed fixed cost has been the hardest challenge for the organisation.
Now that we have achieved it over the past two years, the overwhelming majority of additional revenue goes straight to the profit bucket, as the proportion of variable cost is very little.
And it is these fast-rising profits that finance infrastructure development and fund the ISBP. By 2031, we expect profits to come in around N$250 million, which is a significant improvement from the current N$24 million.
