The Federal Government has expressed disappointment over the delay in the completion of the new terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. According to the government, the airport was billed to be completed before the end of last year, but this never happened and might not happen any time soon.
The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, regretted the pace of work at the terminal while inspecting the facility on Tuesday. He said, “We had earlier said that we will be able to deliver this project by December 2017 and unfortunately, we are now in January and the project has not been delivered. So, we’ve come here to find out from the contractors and consultants what could be the hindrance.
“The quality of work is acceptable, the pace of work is not acceptable. This project should have been delivered earlier than now and the contractor has just been repeating what he said earlier about some of the challenges he’s been facing.” Sirika listed some of the complaints raised by the contractor, saying, “You have the problem of linking the new terminal and the old terminal; the problem here in Abuja of blocking the control tower, in which those in the control tower cannot see the other side of the airport and this is a safety issue.
“Also, you have the fire service blocking access to the terminal building, making it very difficult for aircraft to manoeuvre and to utilise the apron. And also, there is the inadequate nature of the apron itself and the absence of electricity to power the building. There is the issue of sewer and water, which are all part of the challenges.” The minister faulted the initial procurement process for the airport, as he noted that the already built facility had distorted the master plan of the airport.
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