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Aviation Minister pledges completion of on-going airport projects

By on March 14, 2015

Again, the Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka has said the on-going remodelling projects at 22 airports in Nigeria were not abandoned. He said, the pace of work has slowed down due to paucity of funds because contractors were paid as funds were generated.

Chidoka said work at the Sokoto, Ibadan and Owerri airports have been completed and that the projects would soon be unveiled.

The minister made this known on Monday at the inauguration of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centre and Scientific and Technical Information Library of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) located at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Chidoka said to meet international standards, the aviation sector must develop and integrate software and hardware infrastructure to ensure safety and passenger comfort at the airports, adding that government has not initiated any new projects because it wants to complete all the projects it started in the aviation sector.

“It is not a correct statement to say projects will be abandoned because this facility we are commissioning today is one of such projects that Jonathan started.  What has happened is that due to constraints of funds, OIL PRICES are down and revenue to government has dropped, so the projects in aviation have to be prioritised so the most critical ones are completed first.

“Contractors are now being paid and we told the relevant agencies to prioritise the projects; and we are prioritising them. We have commissioned one today and in the next few weeks we will go ahead and complete and commission more,” he added.

The delay in the completion of the airport terminal projects, particularly as it relates to the rehabilitation and upgrading of critical infrastructure at the 22 airports had attracted widespread criticism the airport terminal facilities were not completed at the projected dates. .

“The establishment of the ICT centre to enhance efficiency of collection, processing, archiving and dissemination of meteorological data and information is clear evidence that NIMET has transformed into a world-class technology driven organisation in consonant with contemporary global best practices,” said Chidoka.

The Director-General, NIMET, Dr. Anthony Anuforom, said the centre was designed to enhance data collection, processing, storage and application for product generation in the different areas of meteorology such as aeronautical, hydro-meteorology, agro-meteorology, marine and climate services.

He said the centre receives real time numerical and satellite data for processing, archiving and dissemination to various end users including the international community.

[ThisDay]