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Senate promises completion of all airport projects

By BusinessNews Staff on June 1, 2014

The Chairman of senate committee on aviation Senator Hope Uzodinma has given a firm assurance that all the ongoing projects in the aviation industry would be completed.
Speaking to journalists after the committee’s facility tour of Lagos airport Tuesday, Uzodimma said that the Senate would ensure enough funds were provided in the budgets to the aviation sector to enable the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) complete all the ongoing projects.
He said the inspection was part of the committee’s routine oversight function on aviation agencies.

Uzodinma said the objective of the visit was to find out the performance of the 2013 appropriation to the parastatals as approved by the Senate and the extent of utilisation as well as the possible impact on the overall development of the aviation roadmap.

Uzodimma remarked that the essence of governance is in the overall interest of the people, which he said was the reason President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was paying so much attention to the aviation industry and putting so much money for its development.

He disclosed that contractors handling the private jet terminal have nearly completed them.
The projects inspected by the committee included the new terminal building of MMIA under construction, the executive jet terminal project, which has reached 90 per cent completion and the hotel complex being built by FAAN at the MMIA terminal which has reached 50 per cent completion.

Other areas visited by the team were General Aviation Terminal (GAT), the runways to inspect the floor lights, the Aerodrome, Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (ARFFS) and the arrival hall of MMIA to inspect the escalators that have now become disused.

The committee also visited the newly built power house with seven installed giant generators.
Uzodinma said airfield lighting, which was ceded to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has been transferred back to FAAN, which used to be in charge of runway construction, maintenance and airfield lighting.

“We now know that FAAN has the technical and financial capacity to live up to the challenge and ensure that we have all the runways lighting up for night navigation. It is something that we must do because we must get value to every expenditure that we have done”‘ he said.
He said: “The aviation road map is working. We are committed to the road map. One of the critical successes recorded by this administration is in the area of transport. It is not only in aviation, even road transport, the railway and all the rest, so there are no doubts in my mind that the Aviation Road Map is working and we should also commend government for having the political will to provide the funding.”

According to him, the road map succeeded because it was recommended by the Ministry of Aviation, approved by the Federal Executive Council and given support by the National Assembly, adding that the three arms of government are partners in progress.

Uzodimma reiterated that some projects that were not captured in the N174 billion debt incurred by the Ministry of Aviation would be re-prioritised, adding that the committee had discovered on Monday that under the phase three airport remodeling programme, FAAN and the Ministry of Aviation were indebted to the tune of over N174billion.

“These are funds not within the budget; they did not carry us along and that is why it is not in the budget. We queried how they over-committed government without prior approval. Now, the only way to go-because some of the projects are also as critical and important- we directed the Ministry to set up a committee to look at those projects and then re-prioritise them and see what the Ministry will be able to shoulder given its lean resources,” he said.

[This Day]

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