South-East govs appeal for speedy rehabilitation of Enugu airport

Disturbed by the problem that followed the closure of Akanu Ibiam International airport, Enugu, Governors of South-East geopolitical zone on Thursday, appealed to the Federal Government to expedite action on the ongoing rehabilitation work at Airport with a view to easing businesses in the zone.

Chairman of  South-East Governors’ Forum, Chief Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State who made the call while inspecting the extent of the project at the airport ground, said that though he was satisfied at the extent of the work but was concerned about the duration and delivery of the project.

“I am happy with the pedigree and experience of the consultant in charge of the work and has no reservations that the job will be of good quality. Governors of the Southeast are happy with President Muhammadu Buhari for the timely release of funds for the upgrade of the facilities in the airport,” he added.

Chief Umahi also lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for the various projects being executed by the Federal Government in the zone which he said included the Second Niger Bridge.

“We are impressed with the quality and speed of the work and believe that at the end of the day we shall have a lasting airport,” he said.

The governor who told reporters that he was not aware of the alleged downward review of the contract sum,  said that he was not worried about such allegations as the definition and specification of the work had not changed.

Earlier, the Project Consultant, Sani Baba, said that the issue of completion of the project was an issue with the contractor.

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Baba said that the contractor had opted to deliver the project in June 2020 but the Federal Government rejected it and insisted on delivering the job by the last week of April 2020.

The Consultant said that to deliver the project as scheduled, the contractor would have to do certain tasks simultaneously, stressing that the idea was to make the airport one of the best in the country.

Also speaking,  the Electrical Consultant, Mr Mohammed Sadiq, said that it was not correct that the cost of the project had been reviewed downward, adding that the project was still valued at N10billion.

He, however, said that the project was broken down into civil work and electrical call.

“The pavement and civil work will be done at N8.5billion, the electrical work would cost N1.5billion.

It would be recalled that the airport was closed in August 2019 following safety concerns by officials of the Ministry of Aviation.