Governor Udom Emmanuel has reaffirmed the determination of the Akwa Ibom government to go ahead with the construction of a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the Ibom airport to service aircraft operating within and outside the country.
Udom who denied that the state government had abandoned the plan to go ahead with the facility after the Ibom airport and Ibom airline had become functional added however the decision to go ahead with the facility would depend on the interest shown by investors including airline operators.
The MRO facility was part of the Ibom airport project inaugurated many years ago but without the facility and with the commencement of flight operations and state government launching its airline, agitation has heightened for the MRO to be constructed.
But speaking during a media interaction with journalists in Uyo, the state capital, the governor maintained that it was no use constructing the facility without the assurance that it would be used by airline operators in carrying out various checks on their aircraft.
According to him, the state government would be ready to commit its fund to the project if investors particularly major aircraft manufacturers indicate interest to partner with the state government adding that it would be a source of finance to the state government if completed.
Similarly, on the proposed Ibom deep seaport in Ibaka, Mbo local government area of the state, he said the state government was anxiously awaiting the approval of the federal government for the project to receive the much-needed boost.
The governor who noted that port development is on the exclusive legislative list in which the federal government has the sole responsibility, he expressed the hope that with partnership with investors and the support of the federal government, the development of the port would go ahead as planned.
The state government had set up a technical committee on the development of the seaport with “tremendous success” recorded so far following the “issuance of procurement process and negotiation of terms and conditions” with the preferred bidder for the project.
In the governor’s manifesto issued during his second term electioneering campaign, he promised that “in the next four years of my administration, the port will commence full operations as my completion agenda has made the deep seaport a top priority.’’
It was however gathered that some investors have indicated interest in the development of the port which according to sources when completed would help in decongesting the country’s main ports in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
