Zimbabwe’s Harare International Airport has today been officially been renamed Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
The airport will be upgraded at a cost of $153 million in an effort to attract more visitors. The airport is expected to handle 6.5 million passengers a year, Reuters reports.
State-owned Herald newspaper reported that China Export and Import Bank will provide a $153 million loan that will, among other things, be used to expand the runway to allow multiple planes to land at the same time.
Accepting the honor, Mugabe said renaming the airport was “a great gesture” to him and his family.
On August 9 the country’s government announced plans to build a $1 billion university named after Mugabe, a move that was criticized by the opposition as a waste of resources.
Mugabe has been the president since Zimbabwe gained its independence from Britain in 1980 and despite his advanced age, he remains the most influential political figure in the country.
