Officials inspecting facilities at the Victor Attah International Airport on Thursday.
By Anietie Akpan
The Akwa Ibom state government has reiterated its readiness to meet the April deadline to commence international flights at the Victor Attah International Airport.
A release from the Government House Press Unit said, the State’s Supervisory Commissioner for Special Duties and Ibom Deep Seaport, Mr. Emem Almond Bob, gave the assurrance in Uyo on Thursday, after leading a delegation from the Ministry on an inspection tour of the entire airport facility.
The inspection covered critical infrastructure and operational areas, including the access road within the terminal building, parking lot, apron, taxiway, security and operational perimeter fencing, Smart Internet installation, as well as the power transmission and transformer area and medium voltage power panels, among others.
Bob, who earlier had a strategic technical meeting with all contractors and engineers on site to appraise the level of work done, said with the smooth pace of work, he was very optimistic that the April timeline would be met.
He noted that the Governor was very committed to delivering the world class facility for international use within the stipulated timeframe, noting that the current level of progress gives confidence that the April timeline for international operations will be achieved.
Bob explained that as the supervising ministry in charge of the actualization of the new international airport terminal, it was within their oversight to regularly have a technical meeting with all the contracting firms to assess their quality of work and identify existing gaps.
”As a ministry, we are here today to inspect and assess key operational areas, identify infrastructure gaps, and ensure timely interventions to guarantee a seamless take-off of international flights,” the Commissioner stated
Responding to questions from the media on whether the Committee on the Actualization of the Airport would visit the facility before the inaugural flight, the Commissioner explained that the Committee, headed by the Secretary to the State Government, was actively working.
He noted that his presence at the site was in his capacity as the Supervisory Commissioner of the Ministry and assured that meetings would be convened as necessary to address areas of concern, adding that inspections would continue up to the very last day before the commencement of international operations at the airport.
Taking the Commissioner around all components of the new terminal building, the Chairman of VKS Construction, Engr. Oliver Ebong highlighted that works were ongoing in all the areas requiring urgent attention to ensure full completion of the facility and assured that the terminal would be ready for use by the end of March.
Recall that Governor Umo Eno had recently inaugurated a committee headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Enobong Uwah to oversee the full implementation of the international status of the Victor Attah International Airport, following a technical assessment visit by a Federal Government team led by the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, to commence the process of giving effect to the international operations at the airport.
On the inspection were, the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties. Engr. Ephraim Udosen; Managing Director, Airport Development Authority, Uwem Ekanem, Director of Project Implementation and Coordination, Arc. Ekawan Alale; Director of Geo-Technical Services, Mrs. Helen Daniel; Clark works for the Terminal Building, Arc. Christopher Enyekung among others.
