Re-construction of Abuja Airport Runway Not Extended Beyond 6 Weeks – Minister

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has

 refuted reports in a section of the media that the ongoing

 reconstruction of the runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International

 Airport, Abuja, has been extended from six to 18 weeks.

 The Minister said at a session with the Aviation Round Table (ART) in

 Lagos on Monday that the six-week timeline for the reopening of the

 airport would be adhered to.

 “Let me use this opportunity to debunk the erroneous report making the

 rounds that the closure of the Abuja airport has been extended to 18

 weeks. This is not true. The six-week timeline 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,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said the reconstruction of the Abuja airport runway is

 nearing its halfway mark, adding: “We are on course to re-open the

 Abuja airport for flight operations on schedule.”

 He said the government would continue to engage Nigerians, including

 the critical stakeholders in the Aviation Industry, and give them

 up-to-date and factual information concerning the closure of the

 Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

 “What we are doing here today is in continuation of the efforts to

 carry Nigerians along and to keep them adequately informed about this

 whole issue of Abuja airport closure and the operations in Kaduna. We

 are here because we believe that members of the Aviation Round Table

 are major stakeholders, knowledgeable stakeholders whose opinions are

 based on empirical evidence rather than sheer emotions,” the Minister

 said.

 He reiterated his earlier statement that the Federal Government has

 done everything possible to ensure the comfort, safety and security of

 the travelling public during the six-week closure of the Abuja

airport.

 Alhaji Mohammed added that transportation from Abuja to Kaduna and

 vice versa is free for air passengers, and that security along the

 Abuja-Kaduna expressway is such that there is a presence of security

 agents at short intervals, while the expressway itself has been

 rehabilitated to ensure a smooth ride.

 “I can tell you, having travelled on that road at least thrice since

 the relocation, that the ride is smooth, plus the safety and security

 of passengers at the Kaduna airport are paramount and guaranteed, as

 have been attested to by many,” he said.

 In his comments, the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi

 Sirika, also debunked the media report on the extension of the runaway

 reconstruction period.

 “I was coming from Swaziland and I had the liberty of accessing my

 mails in the airplane and I read that there is a certain committee in

 the Presidency who extended (the time frame). There is no committee of

 that nature and nobody has extended the time frame. Our six weeks by

 the grace of God will be six weeks.

 “We have done about three weeks, and I am very comfortable that we

 will be able to achieve the six weeks target,” he said.

 Senator Sirika said tremendous amount of work, thoughts and

 consultation have been involved in arriving at the six-week target and

 that the contractor has deployed vast equipment and technology to meet

the target.

 He said the contractor has given a commitment that the reconstructed

 Abuja runway will have a lifespan in excess of 10 years.

 “We want to build something that can be sustained. We don’t want to

 build something that two or three years down the line we will begin to

 also say what they have done is bad and so we got a commitment in

 writing that once this runway is done, (it) will remain intact in

 excess of 10 years,” he said.

 The Aviation Round Table session, which was also attended by its

 President, Mr. Gbenga Olowo, its Secretary-General, Group Capt. John

 Ojikutu, ART members as well as journalists, provided an opportunity

 for professionals in the Aviation Industry to interact with the

 Federal Government on matters arising from the closure of the Nnamdi

 Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.