The Federal Government has said the N72 billion Second Runway for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, will be delivered in six months.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday at the oversight visit by members of the National Assembly Overseeing the Aviation Industry.
He explained that the project would be delivered within the next six months and maintained in the next one year if funding is made available According to him, as you can see contractors have been mobilized to site and work has commenced and it is our intention to deliver the project as soon as possible and the government is committed to delivering this project and funding it.
On his part, Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji, stated that the runway when completed will be the longest in West Africa of 4.2 kilometers against the existing runway of 3.7 kilometers.
Nnaji added that the project would cost 72 billion naira and would be completed in the next six months.
He maintained that the completion of the runway will further expand the industry and attract more investors in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
“We have been expecting this construction to take off because am aware that for some years now we have been funding budget to accommodate for the second runway which is very important to this country, Abuja being the capital city d Nigeria with an aggressive infrastructural development, we feel that it is important to add another runway”.
The lawmaker representing Ekiti South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Abiodun Olujimi, on her part noted that the runway has been long overdue and having just one runway has affected the nation overtime.
“This runway has been pending for a very long time, it could be recalled that the airport had to be shut down because we had only one runway and it was bad”.
Olujimi expressed optimism that with the mobilization and adequate funding, the project would be delivered before the expiration of the present administration.
“It was the initiative of the Minister to ensure that the second runway took effect and glad to see that the contractor has been mobilized on site and they are working. The Minister has assured that funding will be delivered before the expiration of this government and we believe that is going to be a great feat.”
Following improved safety recorded in the nation’s airspace in recent years, insurance premium on wide-body aircraft declined by 433 per cent to $150,000 from $800,000.
This is coming on the heel of the drastic reduction in aircraft accidents in the country.
The development consequently led to a decline in insurance premiums on wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft.
Wide-body aircraft is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast.
The two chairmen of the committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, Senator Abiodun Olujimi and Nnolim Nnaji made the observation during an oversight working visit to the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA).
Speaking during the meeting, the Commissioner, AIB, Engineer Akin Olateru, said: “The drastic reduction in aircraft accidents in the country has brought down the insurance premiums paid on operating aeroplanes in Nigeria.
“Nigeria’s high safety records in the last couple of years so far have aided in bringing down the insurance premiums on wide-body aircraft from $800,000 a year to between $150,000 and $200,000.
“AIB has set the pace in air safety in Africa by establishing the first training institution for accident investigators in the continent.”
The members of the joint committees were impressed with the progress so far made in the upgrade of facilities and manpower at the Bureau which had led to the reduction of accidents in the country to the barest minimum.
Nnaji also stressed that members were impressed that for the past seven years now, the country had not recorded any fatalities apart from the helicopter accident which occurred at Opebi in Lagos in early 2021.
