The new terminal building under construction at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja will become operational in October.

The Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Saleh Dunoma, gave the assurance when President Muhammadu Buhari, inspected the project after the inauguration of Abuja Metro line on Thursday.

He said the government and other stakeholders were prevailing on the contractors, China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) to ensure the completion of the project by August.

Dunoma said all the challenges that hitherto hindered the completion of the project had been addressed.

He explained that the issue of water and power supply had been handled by the government, adding that the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory had promised to connect the airport to its water supply system.

According to him, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved an independent power supply for the airport.

“So all these works are coming on and by October, they will all be functional and that is when we will start using the terminal building.

“We are pressing the contractor to finish in August so that we can start operations in October and all the stakeholders are working together to ensure this.

“The relocation of control tower and fire station has nothing to do with the terminal building.–

He explained that the issues were going to be handled in the next stage of the items of work that needed to be carried out but would not stop the use of the terminal building.

FAAN boss expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done, adding that the train station would be linked to the existing terminal for seamless movement of passengers.

He explained that there were still more works going on within the airport which includes two car park buildings to be constructed on both wings of the terminal.

According to him, there are so many things to be done but between now and October when we plan to start operations in the new terminal, the road network would have been completed.

“Abuja and Port Harcourt airports terminal buildings are on the same level but because of the volume of traffic in Abuja, we prefer to start operations here first.

“You can see there are congestion here and there and if we must ease up operation, we must complete this project

“We are also working hard to put old facilities in order so that by the time we start operations here everything will be renewed.

Dunoma said that there was a programme in place to ensure the execution of the second runway project.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, said the rail would make movement in and out of the airport to be seamless.

Sirika said the light rail would also make transportation more efficient, adding that it would allow people to connect to their businesses and workplaces in much faster time than before.

“It will reduce the pressure on our roads, ease traffic congestion on all the arteries that lead to airports around the world.’’ (NAN)

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