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afrol News, 10 March - Cape Verde, with its strategic position off the West African coast and with an increasing tourism sector, is investing heavily in aviation. The national airlines are planning to increase its fleet from one to three jet planes. A new international airport in the capital, Praia, is due to be inaugurated later this year. The Cape Verdean national airlines, Transportadora Aérea Cabo-verdiana (TACV), this week announced it would launch "a more aggressive strategy" on the international aviation market. TACV so far has concentrated on domestic flights and left most of the international market to foreign companies. The Cape Verdean cabinet is discussing whether to help financing the expansion of TACV's fleet from one to three leased Boeing jet planes, increasing the company's capacity to launch international and intercontinental flights. TACV had launched cooperation with five other West African airlines to secure local interests in the zone. New flight routes from Cape Verde to the African continent, Europe and the Americas have recently been inaugurated, demonstrating the market possibilities for TACV. The national airliner also sees a great potential in the tourism airport on the island of Sal, which could play the future role of a hub in the intercontinental traffic between Europe, Africa and the Americas. Meanwhile, the new airport of Praia, to be inaugurated in October this year, would develop into a turntable of international traffic from and to Cape Verde and domestic flights, TACV holds. Praia's new airport meanwhile has entered into its last phase of constructions. The airport, on Santiago Island, will be opened by
Prime Minister José Maria Neves in October, according to the latest assessments. Also the new access highway to the airport should be finalized by then, Jorge Lopes, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport announced this week. The European Union had been among the principal financing partners in this extensive project, the Ministry informed.
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