Senegal opens new international airport with economic hopes

Senegal's new international airport was opening its runways Thursday as the West African country hopes to become a travel hub for the region. Airport International Blaise-Diagne, which had faced more than 10 years of delays, is meant to anchor Senegal's economic and tech center. The airport has had mixed reviews with its location of more than 50km from the capital, Dakar. A connecting train service is still years from completion. The airport, with an estimated cost of $575m, is five times larger than the old one. It is expected to see 3m passengers in its first year. The government is aiming for 5m passengers in 2023 and 10m in 2035. A number of cities in West Africa are competing to be the region's air hub including Lome, Togo, which is the base of operations for ASKY Airlines, and Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Leopold Sedar Senghor international airport, located in the congested capital, was closing Thursday and has been handed over to Senegal's military. Most airlines including Delta, Royal Air Maroc, TAP and others have confirmed they will switch over once the old airport closes. <br/>