The maintenance repair and overhaul facility (MRO), terminal building, and taxiway undergoing construction at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, will all be ready for inauguration by December, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has said.
During the inspection of the facilities, Emmanuel expressed satisfaction with the level of work executed by the contractors, noting that the MRO which is at 84 percent completion has the capacity of carrying two 747 aircraft series, eight A-220 300 series and all the CRJs. He added that the MRO when fully operational would facilitate the economic growth of the state.
“From what I have seen here, the contractors have exceeded my expectation; they are quite ahead of schedule. We can say it is at 84 percent completion and the materials on ground can guarantee the expected delivery date.
“A lot of people don’t understand what we have put in here; these are technical details that can facilitate certain aspects of economic growth in the state.
“The MRO can take two 747 aircraft series, eight of our A-220 300 series and all the CRJs for now, all installations are near completion and you can imagine we are the newest bride for all the aircraft maintenance companies and we have received offers from aircraft maintenance companies, you can imagine the foreign exchange this will bring to the state’’, he stated.
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At the terminal building project, Emmanuel said that the structural part of the project was near completion and the terminal would be the smartest in Africa, adding that Ibom Air will commence its regional flight at the completion of the project.
He pointed out that the project which is a total approach to aviation development will attract other foreign airlines and assured that there will be ease of business transactions in the state.
The governor hinted that as part of the government’s efforts in aviation development, 100 youths will be trained in aeronautical engineering and other specialised fields beginning with the first badge of 40 youths which will be handled by experts from Airbus Company.
“I want to assure Akwa Ibom people, this is what we call a total approach to aviation development and we want to take all at the same time, airline, airport terminal building MRO, runway and other aviation facilities.
“I hope you are aware that Airbus experts are on ground, to train youths in piloting and aeronautical engineering, they are on the first phase here in Nigeria while the second and the third phase will be done at Airbus in France.
“We will train more once we finish the first badge of 40 my target is to train 100 youths before I leave office,”‘ he explained.
The governor, who expressed satisfaction with the 3.6km taxiway, appreciated the quality and standard of the project executed by GITTO Construzioni Generali Nigeria.
The project director of Camosa Nigeria Limited handling the MRO project, while conducting the governor around the project, said work has been on for 13 months and currently at 84 percent completion.
At the international terminal building, the project manager, VKS Construction Limited Ziya Sungur clarified that the major structural works have been completed and now left with furnishing with the required fittings for smart operations.
Similarly, the project manager of Gitto, Ghanem Rasbeih, said that the 1.5 out of 3.6Km of the new taxiway is 100 percent completed, while the remaining was at 80 percent completion.
The project managers assured the governor that the three projects will be completed before the end of 2022.
