May 24, 2006 (Addis Ababa) — The House of Peoples' Representatives requested the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority to give explanations on its budget utilization for the construction of the Gambella Airport.

The Authority on its part replied that it was unable to fully utilize the budget due to various reasons including design alterations made on the construction of the airport.

Members of the Infrastructure Development Affairs Standing Committee of the House made the query after hearing the Authority's nine-month performance report.

Though the government earmarked 11 million birr for the execution of capital projects, only three million has so far been utilized, they said.

Replying to questions raised by members of the House, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, Mesfin Fikru and his colleagues said design change is one of the problems faced.

Standard and service of the civil aviation has been improved, Mesfin said, and added that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been conducting controls and follow-ups periodically.

The authority has also reached aviation agreements with 48 countries, he said, adding it has also been playing its role geared towards scaling up tourism and investment sectors in the country, he added.

The authority has designed a five year strategic plan with a view to becoming financially independent.