Abuja airport May not be ready by 18th - Reps

A section of the runway

Members of the House of Representatives on Monday expressed worry over the speed of work on the runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as they expressed fears that the rehabilitation exercise might not be completed on schedule.

According to them, only 40 per cent of work on the runway has been completed since the rehabilitation process commenced three weeks ago, and wondered if the remaining portion would be ready in the next three weeks as planned.

The Abuja airport was closed to flight operations on March 8 this year in order to carry out repairs on its runway and taxi ways. The Kaduna International Airport has been serving as a temporary alternative to the NAIA.

The Abuja airport runway rehabilitation is meant to last for six weeks and the target is that by April 19, the runway should have been ready for flight operations.

But after inspecting the project on Monday, members of the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation raised concerns about the pace of work at the facility and stated that they would investigate further to ensure that the April 19 completion date given by the government was not extended.

Their views were, however, opposed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the contractor in-charge of the project, Julius Berger, as the two organisations insisted that the work would be completed on schedule.

After inspecting the runway, the Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, told journalists that the lawmakers were not satisfied with what they saw.

She said, “I have my concerns from what I have seen, because the work is divided into three phases, but they are still on the first phase. And from a layman’s angle, which I am, I am saying that I have concerns about the work and that it may not be completed on schedule.

“They are insisting that it will be completed, but it doesn’t add up from what we are seeing. We are concerned about the mechanical and lighting issues, and we are going to be taking it up from there.”

The Resident Engineer of FAAN at the Abuja airport, Mr. Yemi Ayelesan, stated that the construction firm had commenced the laying of asphalt on the runway and that workers were on site for 24 hours in order to meet the given deadline.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has said he will resign if the repair of the Abuja airport’s runway exceeds the projected six-week period stated for its completion.

Sirika spoke at the Aviation Roundtable in Lagos on Monday.

The minister said he would not take a decision that involved the lives of millions of Nigerians and disappoint them.

“Work is ongoing at the Abuja airport and the six weeks will indeed be six weeks for the airport to be ready again for both international and domestic flight operations,” he stated.

According to Sirika, the decision to shut down the Abuja airport and make the Kaduna airport an alternative is not political as it is being speculated, but is as a result of security, proximity and convenience concerns for air passengers.

“We have budgeted N150m to charter cargo airplanes to buy and bring in some of the materials we don’t have in Nigeria. We want to build something we can sustain. The runway will be built to last for over 10 years,” he explained.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who was also present at the meeting, said the information that the date for the repairs had been extended was mere speculation.

He said the government was resolute in its decision to finish the work at exactly six weeks.

He added, “Let me use this opportunity to debunk the erroneous report making the rounds that the closure of the Abuja airport has been extended by 18 weeks.

“This is not true. The six-week time line for the closure remains. After six weeks, the Abuja airport will be reopened. The remaining work on the runway will not necessitate the closure of the airport.”

The President of the Aviation Roundtable, Gbenga Olowo, said stakeholders had been concerned about issues in the aviation sector.