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•Orders FAAN to install new lifts, air-conditioners
From Uche Usim, Abuja
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, on Tuesday, assured that China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Limited (CCECC), the contractors handling the second runaway for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, would move to site by next week, rekindling hopes that the controversial project may eventually see the light of the day.
Keyamo, who made the disclosure while inspecting facilities at Abuja airport, said that the project would be realised in 12 months.
He said the villagers living around the site, who hitherto stood as stumbling blocks, have started relocating as they receive the compensation earmarked for them.
He also ordered the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to urgently install new lifts at the domestic wing as the current ones perform abysmally.
The Minister tasked FAAN to fix the air-conditioning system at the local terminal, saying it is tortuous for travellers to be drenched in sweat and discomfort before boarding their flights.
The Minister urged Nigerians, especially the travelling public to judge him after a few months and not two weeks, he intends to deliver on his mandate.
He said: “As of today, the report I have is the money we paid to FCT for them to pay to the settlers there, they have started paying them and they have started moving.
“I asked the CCECC people who are doing the project and they said that they were giving me a date of sometime next week for them to move to the site.
“So, we are going to invite Mr. President to come and commission it. And it’s a project Nigerians have been waiting for forever. It has been a controversial project from Obasanjo time to now. Well, thankfully, this government is set to commence that project and it’s one of the projects that is a low-hanging fruit for us. And we think it’s extremely important. You remember the other time when there was a problem with Abuja, Runway we all had to go to Kaduna, you know, in a very inconvenient manner, to board our plane. So, the second runway for a gateway like Abuja for the capital city is extremely important and I pray that all agencies of government, the National Assembly, the presidency, will give us the support to make sure we deliver that project within 12 months.
On his assessment of the airport’s status, the Minister said: “On arrival at any airport both locally and internationally, what passengers want to see are three things; your chillers; they want to come into a conducive, cool atmosphere. They also want to see that your lifts are working for those who are tired or cannot climb stairs so your lift or escalators must be working and the third one is the carousel which are those conveyor belts that bring out the bags. “Now, on a visit to most of our airports, those are the problems we are facing.
Even with this new facility, I understand only four of the ten chillers are working. Now, what is the immediate solution? I have told them that my mentality to some of these things is that for example, most of those lifts that are obsolete instead of fixing them and fixing them, you know, every two months they will bring a bill to fix them and by the time you fix three times you are already almost buying a new one. I told them to get rid of them. Let us buy high quality lifts”, he said.
On national carrier, Nigeria Air, Keyamo said the next step after its suspension was to peruse the report written on it by relevant government agencies and stakeholders before taking a final decision.
“So, no final decision has been taken on all of these but I won’t be here because it will be very irresponsible of me as a minister to come in and agencies of governments are raising red flags here and there, and I will keep quiet.
“I’m not talking about even Nigerians complaining, agencies of government are raising red flags about the project. And I, as a functionary of government, as a minister, will we then wave all of those red flags away? You know, people were already putting machineries in motion to commit themselves. So, it is to save them and save us. I said don’t commit, hold on. Don’t commit anything so that your commitments will not go into these adventures. Wait, let us look at it all”, he admonished.
