By Our Reporter
A Federal Government team from the Ministry of Aviation has paid visit to Abia State to inspect the proposed site of a new airport for the state.
In similar vein, the state governor, Dr. Alex Otti informed that one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions, Access Bank plc, has expressed willingness to partner with the state in developing the airport project.
The delegation led by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Dr. Emmanuel Meribeole, said that it was in the state to ensure that the land and location approved for the project fell in alignment with regulatory requirements for the siting of an airport.
Also included in the visiting team are representatives of aviation agencies, namely, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
Meribeole, while acknowledging the visionary leadership of Governor Otti, described members of his team as experts in their various agencies and that the Abia airport project had already been captured in the 2024 Federal Appropriation Act, but as an airstrip.
He noted that despite the fact that airport projects are capital intensive, the advantage of having an airport cannot be overemphasised, saying this would lead to the accelerated development of the state through job creation, promotion of commerce, revenue generation, among others.
In his address, governor Otti, who warmly received the Federal aviation team, commended President Bola Tinubu for approving the development of an airstrip for Abia.
He said even though the national budget made provision for an airstrip, Abia State Government would work with the Federal Government to upscale the airstrip to a full-fledged airport, as the major difference between an airport and airstrip is the length and size of the runway.
He said:”First of all, I will like to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for consenting to setting up an airstrip in Abia and for also including it in 2024 budget as approved.
“Even if the money there may not complete it, but a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. So, we are grateful to him.
“We also want to say a big thanks to my friend and brother, the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Barr. Festus Kyamo, SAN, for all what he’s been doing to ensure that this becomes a reality. We are always on the line discussing, coming up with ideas on how to fast track this.
“I want to thank you for also joining us to be in a hurry to deliver this project. Once we had agreed, we started looking for a suitable land because that is the most important in an airport. There were a few places that were mapped out earlier, but when we went on physical inspection, we found out that some of those places do not have enough space or are not properly located for the airport.
“One other important thing about airport is location, so we now zeroed in on the place that you are looking at, at the moment. We didn’t just identify that location, we went the extra mile of identifying the owners of the land because it is a huge parcel of land. We had already started engaging with them.”
Otti added that the state government was ready to see to the completion of the project in record time, as the people of Abia are in a hurry to have an airport of their own, being one of the two states remaining without an airport, Osun State being another.
“One thing you can take away from here is that the State will actually be leading, and if anything gets delayed, it’s because it is coming from the center; but for us, we are in a hurry.
“I’m personally on this, and I get briefing on a daily bases and any day I don’t get briefing, I check on them, like, where are we on this?
“So, this is to assure you that we are more than ready and that everything that you require, you will receive on record time. And, we hope that at least in the next one year, an airport would be standing. Once we have the runway and have the terminal building, the rest will come from time to time,” he assured.
The Federal aviation team’s visit coincided with that of Access Bank, led by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Roosevelt Ogbonna.
Governor Otti expressed the willingness of Access Bank to participate and partner with Abia State Government in the airport project “to ensure that liquidity does not become a problem”.
Otti expressed confidence that Access Bank has some experience in airport project financing, having participated in similar projects before.
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