Sirika (middle) and officials inspecting the Abuja runway
All appears set for the reopening of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport (NAIA), Abuja, after six weeks of runway rehabilitation
exercise. While workers are busy with finishing touches on the critical
infrastructure, local airlines and their foreign counterparts have
reopened sales and bookings on the Abuja route.
With the cheering development, air travel activities and businesses
in and around Abuja can return to normal. The Guardian learnt that the
operators, including those that suspended operations while the temporary
closure lasted, were motivated by the Federal Government’s claim that
the new runway was 96 per cent ready.
Recall that the Abuja airport was on March 9, temporarily shut for
repairs of its only runway. The runway has been in use since the airport
was built in 1982, and expired some 14 years ago. After much debates
for and against, the rehabilitation exercise was awarded for the sum of
N5.8 million, while Abuja-bound traffic is diverted to recently upgraded
Kaduna International Airport (KIA).
The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, while inspecting the final lap of asphalt laying on Monday, confirmed the 96 per cent completion of the rehabilitation, with the assurance that the airport will reopen for operations come April 19.
An elated Sirika said: “This is runway 22 where the work terminates.
Remember work started from the other end which is 04. You can see that
we have finished asphalting and we are at 96 per cent completion. The
marking of the runway and lightings are going on simultaneously. This is
three to four days’ work and we still have about eight days to go. We
are happy and we are on course,” he said.
The minister said notwithstanding the pressure to deliver on
schedule, the construction team spared no resources to ensure standards
in line with modern technology.
Sirika gave assurance that the runway will not retain rain water with
the introduction of new technology. “There is a new technology where
glass glide is put in the process of constructing the runway to
reinforce it, to give it extra strength and prevent cracks. That is what
we have done at the Abuja airport runway.
“This is the first time any Nigerian runway is being treated with
such material and that material is a 50 tonner. We had to fly it into
Nigeria to ensure that it comes in time for this job. I am very happy
and I thank Nigerians for bearing with us and also thank President
Muhammadu Buhari for believing in us that we can do it,” Sirika said.
A lot of activities have, however, resumed ahead of next Wednesday’s reopening of the airport. The Guardian observed operating local airlines already making bookings on the Lagos-Abuja, Sokoto-Abuja-Lagos, Abuja-Kaduna, Port Harcourt-Abuja among others for next week flights.
Spokesman of Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa, said the airline started
selling ticket to Abuja after the minister’s declaration that the
airport would reopened as scheduled.
Ezenwa said: “We have started selling tickets for Abuja. We started
receiving booking demands for Abuja and we have started selling,
starting from April 20 a day after the reopening date. We are hoping
that government would fulfill their promise and reopen the airport on
19th,” he said.
Foreign airlines, including those that suspended operations during
the closure are also not left out in the reopening plan. President of
foreign airlines association in Nigeria, Kingsley Nwokoma, told
reporters that foreign airlines have opened booking for tickets and
cargo flights to Abuja.
Nwokoma said: “After the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Sirika
staked his job and seconded by the Minister of Information, Lai
Mohammed, some foreign airlines have started selling tickets to Abuja.
Everyone believes that the ministers will keep to their words. Even
cargo booking has started for Abuja airport. That one is easier because
it is not as sensitive as passenger service. Let us see how it plays.
“In a civilised country, if they give you a date people will work
with that date. But since the minister has put his job on the line, we
are confident that flights will start in Abuja after next week,” Nwokoma
said.
SOURCE:-guardian.n
