Abuja Airport Runway To Be Completed In May, Says Minister

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Muhammad Bello, and the Minster of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has charged the construction company to double efforts and ensure the project was completed May 29, 2023.

The ministers gave the charge on Monday during a visit to the construction site of the second runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport which is scheduled to be completed before the end of the Buhari's administration.

He charged the construction company in charge of the project to double efforts and ensure that the project is completed before the handover date of the current administration on May 29, 2023.

Speaking during the visit, the aviation minister thanked the FCT minister for the allocation of the 12,000 hectares of land given for the project, adding that the project is meant to be an aviation city containing everything a modern city has, including hotels, shopping malls, schools, cinemas and hospitals.

He described the project as a legacy project which would boost economic activities not just in the FCT, but across the country, while disclosing that the facilities would also include a cargo hub, and serve as the hub for the national carrier.

Sirika also said the aviation city would serve as a base for the aviation leasing company and would have the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau offices.

In his remarks, the FCT minister pledged his administration’s total support for the project and said that the indigenous communities and people stood to benefit the most from the project as it would bring about huge economic activities and employment opportunities to the people, while urging the contractor to work round the clock to ensure its completion on schedule.

“We have a standard procedure for compensation and never in the history of the FCT has issues of compensation stopped a project.”

He thereafter called on the Chief of Jiwa community, Idris Musa, to continue to provide the needed leadership to ensure that the project is successful, noting that the project was “a golden opportunity to be part and parcel of a legacy project that will transform the social, economic and political landscape of the FCT.”