23/09/2010 

Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Fidelia Njeze, yesterday said the Federal Govern-ment had given approval for the remodelling of five of the nation’s airports to international standard with about N90 billion. The money, she said, would be used in massive construction of additional runways to accommodate heavy aircraft, upgrade of the various terminals to international status and other facilities at the airports.

The airports are: Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja; Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano; Port Harcourt Airport; and Akanu Abiam Airport in Enugu which was closed for repairs in February. She said the funding of the projects would largely come from provisions in the 2010 budget and through extra-budgetary means to ensure their quick execution.

The minister disclosed this while addressing journalists on the recent approval to remodel the airports by President Goodluck Jonathan.Expressing her deep concern for the state of the nation’s airports, Njeze said: “Our airports are nothing to write home about, even when compared with the poorest countries on the continent.”

She said over a period of 30 years, the infrastructure had decayed and degenerated, adding that the country was not supposed to be operating with its present level.Njeze noted that after the presentation of the key airports proposal to government, President Jonathan directed the Federal Ministries of Finance, National Planning and Aviation to come out with a quick and immediate source of funding for the projects. She expressed optimism that work would commence concurrently “within the next two weeks without disruption to normal operation at the various airports”.

According to the minister, the remodelling would involve the construction of new runways to accommodate heavy aircraft and the total upgrade of all the terminal buildings which she referred to as “the face of the nation”.  She added that the terminal buildings remained a critical part of airport operations and therefore needed to be upgraded to international status.Commending President Jonathan, she said this is the first time a president of Nigeria was paying much attention to the upgrading of the nation’s airports. 

The upgrade of the Akanu Ibiam Airport in Enugu is strategic because it will serve the South-eastern and North-central business hubs,” Njeze said. She underscored the fact that the Enugu airport is the fourth busiest in the country after the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and Port Harcourt Airport.She said the airport accounts for annual passenger traffic of about 30 per cent of the total national passenger traffic.

Source:Business Hallmark