The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Managing Director- Capt. Hamisu Yadudu has given assurances that the reconstruction of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, will not exceed the targeted April date.
Yadudu revealed this during a stakeholder gathering at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. He added that the contractor, PW Nigeria Limited, had made progress on the project while the FAAN project management team had been monitoring.
He said, “It is going very well because we have a perfect team working with us. PW is already a reputable company and they are taking the project seriously and the FAAN project management team is always on-site.
“The team from the headquarters regularly visits the airport. Then, there is a project team on ground and of course, our consultants.
“Most importantly, our host, the state government has been very wonderful. We have no issues and no complaints whatsoever.”
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, had early this year said the airport project would be completed before Easter.
The Minister, who inspected the reconstruction project, said the runway would be reopened early enough for operations during the period.
Sirika had stated that due to the strategic importance of the airport to the South-Eastern region, the Federal Government carefully contracted the project to a reputable construction company, Messrs PW Limited.
He explained that the contractor had assured that the project would be completed before Easter.
According to the Minister, the new international terminal being constructed at the airport will also be completed before the end of the year.
He stated that the Instrument Landing Systems, airfield lightning, taxi lights and other key deliverables were also parts of the project that would be delivered.
The airport was in 2019 closed for major repairs following safety concerns raised by stakeholders in the aviation industry.
Sirika had stated that some of the reasons for the closure included the airport’s bad runway and landing aids, and the presence of a market nearby which attracted birds that had led to constant bird strikes on aircraft.
The minister had also said the state’s radio mast was wrongly placed and was directly facing the runway.
Yadudu said there would be no going back on the proposed date, adding that the airport had been upgraded for better safety and security of passengers.
He said the agency decided to bring its workers together to appraise its performance, adding that FAAN had recorded 100 per cent achievement.
“All the planning and development are in progress. Some have already been recorded and we are making progress,” Yadudu said.
The Regional General Manager/ Airport Manager, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Mrs Victoria Shin-Aba, said FAAN had been able to improve on the ambience of the 40-year old airport.
“We have reasons to celebrate 2019,” Shin-Aba said.
She said the MMIA recorded about 7.3 million passengers, 36,273 aircraft movements in 2019.
Shin-Aba, however, stated that the airport had challenges in terms of security in 2019, but that FAAN was working to address the problem.
