Effect of Airports Infrastructure Development Projects on the Performance of Aviation Industry in Rwanda - A Case Study of Kigali International Airport

The Government of Rwanda is heavily investing in airport infrastructure development, but there is limited study linking airports infrastructure development to civil Aviation performance. Therefore this study intended to assess the effect of airports infrastructure development projects on civil aviation performance. The general objective of the study was to assess the effect of Airports Infrastructure Development projects on Rwandas Civil Aviation Performance. Specific objectives of this study were: To assess the effect of airports terminal building facilities on service delivery. To identify the effect of airside infrastructure on aviation safety. To identify the effect of air traffic control facilities on air traffic management. The target population in this study was 243 RCAA staff and a sample of 30 respondents were selected using purposive sampling technique. Questionnaires were distributed to selected Rwanda Civil Aviation staff at Kigali International Airport to collect primary data. Descriptive and correlation research statistics were used to analyze the data gathered. Findings of the study on respondents perceptions on airports terminal building and civil aviation performance revealed a strong positive correlation between the airports terminal building and civil aviation performance (r =.69, n = 30, p less than.001). Two variables airside infrastructure and aviation performance also indicated a positive correlation value of (r = 0.067, p-value less than0.001). This showed that upgrades on airside infrastructure led to improved performance of aviation industry in Rwanda. Consequently, further correlation tests on research question three variables revealed a significant relationship (r =0.360, p-value less than 0.001) ; this revealed that enhancement of air traffic control facilities registered better civil aviation performance. Respondents tended to agree that airports terminal building facilities installed during the airport upgrade, the status of airside infrastructure and air traffic control facilities affects the performance of Rwandas civil aviation. During the study, it was noted that there is still congestion at peak hour (the peak hour passenger numbers is 450 yet the terminal upgrade was designed to handle 300 passengers at peak hour. The authority should therefore consider further expansion of the terminal building, the apron and construction of a parallel taxiway so as to further improve on Civil Aviation performance.