Uche Usim, Abuja
For the umpteenth time, the Minister of Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika, has assured anxious Nigerians that the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu, which was shut last August for rehabilitation, will be ready for use before Easter 2020.
The Minister gave the commitment after an inspection visit to the airport on Thursday.
According to him, “the Federal Government appreciates the importance of the airport to the whole of the Southeast region, and the hardship occasioned by its closure, but insisted that it was done in the interest of safety and comfort of air travellers from the region.
On the reported shortage of some materials needed by the contractor, the Minister assured that the problem was being addressed, and would not in any way delay the project from being completed on target.
He commended the handlers of the project on the quality of the job being done, and expressed his confidence the airport, when delivered, would be one of the best in the country.
Sirika also promised that work on the new terminal building at the airport would soon resume very soon, given the budgetary provision for it in the 2020 appropriation document.
He further disclosed that the Buhari t administration met the terminal project at about 20per cent but had taken it to about 60 per cent completion stage.
The Minister was joined on the inspection visit by representatives of the Enugu state government and the South East governors forum who expressed their appreciation to the federal government for ‘taking the bull by the horns’ in shutting down the airport for rehabilitation.
Others on the visit with the Minister were officials of the Ministry of Aviation, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and consultants to the project.