The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Engr. Saleh Dunoma has assured that the International Terminal of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu would be functional within the next eight months.
He also said that basic facilities needed for the smooth operation of the airport were already in place, while further maintenance work on the runway would be carried out to tackle some identified challenges, including the poor drainage system.
Speaking to Journalists after inspecting facilities at the airport at the weekend, Engr. Dunoma said that the airport had continued to receive due attention since it was upgraded especially in terms of provision of aviation facilities and basic infrastructures.
His words: “Akanu Ibiam has been a very lucky airport in terms of our projects. If you look at the remodeling of the terminal building which has since been completed and commissioned, the new International terminal is being roofed and it is the highest level we have gone so far as far as the new terminals are concerned.
“I was in Port Harcourt, Lagos and now I am in Enugu, this is the one that has gone far, it has reached the roofing stage and they are doing the roofing.
“The runway for Enugu was completed but we are having some challenges of drainages on the runway, which is one of the major reasons that brought me here. I have seen it and we will call the contractor back to make sure that they rectify the issues with the drainages.”
According to the FAAN boss, some of the equipment needed for installation at the international wing were already at the airport saying as soon as the ongoing construction works were completed, it would boost the activities of the airport.
Both the domestic and international flight operations are currently being handled from the remodeled domestic terminal where the FAAN, Immigration, Customs and Airlines personnel are being accommodated.
“You can see that some of the equipment meant for the terminal building are still outside; I have instructed the Airport Manager to shelter them and we have gotten a brand new 1,000 KVA generator which I have directed that it should be installed as quickly as possible to assist them in boosting power supply so that the new facilities we are bringing will be connected to the new 1,000 KVA power generator,” Dunoma said.
He expressed satisfaction with the progress of work on various projects in the airport assuring that with sustainable funding they would be completed on schedule to enable the airport function optimally.
Dunoma said: “You can see that all the projects in Akanu Ibiam are going on very fine and I am happy with that. We have timeline for the construction of all the international terminal buildings which is expected to last for 24 months. This one (Enugu) is now about 16 months and we still have eight months to go.
“We are pushing hard to make sure that the contractor completes it on time. You can see that they are doing roofing, they have applied for extension of time; we don’t want to grant that.
“We want to push them to make sure that they complete them within the stipulated time but funds are going to dictate how quickly, whether we can still adhere to the timing or we will give them extension of time”.
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