Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Scarcity of funds threatens airport projects as govt reassures stakeholders

By Chika Goodluck-Ogazi
10 November 2015   |   12:33 am
THE Federal Government has assured that it would complete all ongoing rehabilitation projects, especially at Lagos and Port Harcourt airports as soon as funds are available
Hajia-Binta-Bello

Hajia Binta Bello

THE Federal Government has assured that it would complete all ongoing rehabilitation projects, especially at Lagos and Port Harcourt airports as soon as funds are available

Speaking during an inspection tour of the two airports, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Binta Bello said her mission was to see the projects to know the stages of completion in relation to money spent on them so far, adding that on the funding for the projects inspected, “the ministry will look at them and as soon as money is available, the contractors will be mobilized to site.”
“Work is progressing very well. I am actually happy with what I have seen. I have seen the determination to improve infrastructure at the airports and we are taking what we have seen back to Abuja. I have been told they had some challenges during the take-off of the projects,” Bello added.

Various airports projects in the country, estimated at over N174 billion are currently stalled due to paucity of funds and lack of directives from the Federal Government over their implementation.

The former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah had in 2011 launched the airports’ remodelling project designed to upgrade all the 22 airports in the country, during which she said the first and second phases of the remodelling would be completed and inaugurated before the second quarter of 2014.

The Federal Government had also approved the sum of N106 billion for the construction of 11 new international airport terminal buildings in Nigeria, which were different from the on going remodelling and reconstruction of the airports in the country.

Some of the projects are airport power contracts; protocol lounge and landscaping, new in-bound baggage reclaim carousels, construction work on transit facilities, construction of departure and arrival halls.

Others are the construction of new international terminals projects for commercial flights in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kano airports, the six perishable cargoes terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano and Asaba airports.

0 Comments