$500m airport terminal buildings ready by Dec 2014

If everything goes as planned, Chinese Engineering and Construction Company is expected to complete construction work on the four new international airport terminals it is bankrolling in Nigeria by the end of December 2014.

Nigeria had secured a $500 million loan from the Chinese Exim Bank for the construction of the four new international airport terminals cited in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano.
Construction work on the projects was ceded to the Chinese Engineering and Construction Company (CECC) and the job so far has advanced by about 40 per cent.
Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, who toured the cites recently expressed delight at the pace of the work by the contractors but insisted that more Nigerian employees be hired to create job and aid skills and technology transfer to indigenous workers.
“The process has been accelerated because we started on a very rough note,” Oduah told journalists in Port Harcourt.

Aviation ministry Targets N500bn Contribution To Nigeria’s GDP

The Aviation industry will in the near future contribute over N500 billion to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually and support more than 200,000 jobs, the Federal Ministry of Aviation has said.

The Ministry also said it projects that the sector will contribute an additional N300 billion to the Nigerian economy directly and indirectly. This, it said, will come from additional investments, construction of the infrastructure and foreign direct investment inflows into the industry.

Stella Oduah, while speaking on the topic, “Understanding the Master Plan” in Lagos, said that there is also the forecast that by the time the Aerotropolis Project is completed, additional 80,000 – 100,000 job opportunities would have been created.

She added however that inability of Nigeria to reciprocate on its Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) rights, dominance of international carriers on regional and international routes to and from Nigeria, resulting in capital flight of about N300 billion annually among others, had debarred Nigeria from attaining its envious glory in aviation.

She also attributed part of the deep-rooted problems to leakages in revenue collection occasioned largely by manual collections.

“Stagnant aviation manpower development and human capital flight of indigenous aviation professionals and experts; inability to take advantage of the favourable geographical location and demographic advantages of Nigeria in the West African sub-region.

“Also, a total absence of maintenance and repair organisations (MROs) with the attendant drain on foreign exchange had been the bane of the sector,” she said.

Oduah added that with the prediction of giant aircraft manufacturers, Airbus, the sector must be repositioned to align with global developments.

“Airbus projects that the number of passengers will rise by 145 percent between 2007 and 2026 from 2.5 billion to 6 billion. Air transport will directly employ about 8.5 million people and contribute $1 trillion to world GDP.

“Aviation, its supply chain and the spending of employees in these businesses, will support 23 million jobs and $2.6 trillion of GDP. In relation to tourism, Aviation will sustain 50 million jobs and $3.6 trillion of GDP; even more when you consider the impact of other industries dependent on aviation that are harder to measure,” she assured.

 

http://businessdayonline.com/2014/02/aviation-ministry-targets-n500bn-contribution-to-nigerias-gdp/

 

Written By Sade Williams

 

FG Builds Largest Hajj Terminal At Sokoto Airport

 

THE Federal Government has commenced the construction of the largest Hajj terminal at Sokoto Airport.
Also, this is coming even as the government said the Yola airport terminal under construction when completed, would have the capacity to accommodate 1,000,000 passengers annually.
The Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, who made the declaration after inspecting the two airports, also directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), to put the Yola airport facility to use.
She assured Nigerians that more terminals would be built, adding that her joy was that the Federal Government was able to complete Sokoto terminal within a very short period of time.
She added that the idea behind the reconstruction of the airport terminals was to reposition Nigeria’s aviation.
“We want to say to Nigerians that in aviation, there is more of this to come and we are not just focusing on the terminals, we are also focusing on ensuring that Nigeria’s aviation industry is repositioned. We are ensuring that we have aviation that we deserve and in doing so, we have the frontier ones, which you see like the terminals but there are many more that you do not see and that is the safety facilities and infrastructure, the power, the runway, the fencing and we are almost completing the fencing of this terminal.

 There are so many things that are going on simultaneously and this administration has graciously main streamed aviation in order to ensure that we remain pivotal in social and economic growth in our dear country”.
On the challenges encountered, she said that though there were challenges but that they were been tackled, adding that presently the focus was on Sokoto airport.
According to her, “We are tackling all the challenges, there are numerous challenges but today we are focusing on Sokoto airport. We are focusing on ensuring that we are able to construct the hajj terminal within a very short time. If you look at 40 metres from here, you will see what we are doing. We are going to have the largest hajj terminal in Nigeria situated in Sokoto airport, that is what this administration is doing.
Also speaking during the inspection,
the Managing Director of FAAN, Mr George Uriesi, said that the Sokoto airport terminal had been completed, adding that it had the capacity for carrying 400,000 yearly from the present 45,000 to 50,000.
“We have completed the airport terminals, the remaining thing is to put the furniture inside it and it will start functioning. The airport has capacity for carrying about 400,000 passengers per annum as a smaller facility because right now, Sokoto airport is about 45,000 to 50,000 in a year. I think that we have another eight to 10 years before we expand this terminal but the real capacity is the hajj terminal, which they are just laying the foundation for. It is going to be the largest hajj terminal in the country and the most modern one when it is finished. We are trying to expedite that and I assure you it is going to be the largest terminal so far”, he added.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/business-package/2012-10-29-11-36-27/aviation/item/32679-fg-builds-largest-hajj-terminal-at-sokoto-airport.html

Perishable Cargo, Aerotropolis, key To Aviation Development – Oduah

 

The federal government said the ongoing development of perishable cargo and aerotropolis initiatives in the aviation sector remain a key component in the development of the sector in Nigeria.

Aviation Minister, Ms. Stella Oduah said the initiatives hold the brightest potential to bring about a bottom-up growth and development of the Nigerian society.Oduah, who spoke in Calabar during an inspection tour of the newly-remodeled Margaret Ekpo International Airport in Calabar, said the perishable cargo terminal at the airport would provide a platform for farmers in the state and the neighbouring communities to live a good life beyond mere survival or existence.
She said ‘’Cross River state is known for her agricultural produce ranging from pineapples, bananas, plantain, cocoa, yam, cassava, etc.
Today, much of what the farmers produce here is either grossly under-priced or rots away as a result of lack of local capacity to absorb the huge harvest. But with the perishable cargo taking off here in a matter of months, farmers will begin to secure real value for their hard work as their farm produce will find their way to the biggest cities and supermarkets not only in Nigeria but also in Europe and America’’
The minister added that ‘’The value chain that will result from this is also very immense, the industries that will spring up to service this terminal like the packaging companies, transportation hubs, as well as the grocery stores that will feed off this facility. Thousands of jobs will be created and the entire landscape of this wonderful city will be greatly enhanced; the possibilities are indeed endless’’

Read More: http://www.peoplesdailyng.com/perishable-cargo-aerotropolis-key-to-aviation-development-oduah/

 

 

NAMA Spends N200m To Calibrate Navaids In 26 Airports

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, says it spend at least N200m annually to calibrate navigational aids at 26 airports across the country.

This is as the agency also disclosed that it has commenced calibration of navigational equipment at some airports across the country to enhance air safety.
The Managing Director, NAMA, Mr. Nnamdi Udoh, in a statement stated that the routine calibration exercise commenced at the Kebbi State-owned Birnin Kebbi airport where newly installed Doppler Very High Omnidirectional Radio Range, DVOR, Distance Measuring Equipment, DME, and Instrument Landing System, ILS, were commissioned.
Udoh stated that routine checks on VOR/DME equipment at Sokoto, Jos and Abuja are to be carried out by the technical team including the Precision Approach Path Indicator, PAPI, of the Abuja and Kaduna airports. The glide slope of Kaduna will be re-checked as well.
Also, he hinted that the newly installed Conventional VOR/ DME at Enugu airport will be commissioned soon while the VOR/DME at Owerri and ILS/ DME at Ilorin are for routine check.
He informed that a week exercise is being handled by a Dakar based Calibration firm, ASECNA.
Udoh added that the calibration of the navaids would assist in putting all the navigational aids in proper shape at these airports. IITA technologies help cassava farmers double yields (P34 2nd)
Meshack Idehen
Allied Atlantic Distilleries Limited has said that improved varieties and best-bet agronomic practices in the production of cassava, obtained from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, and passed on to farmers have almost doubled the yield of the root crop, making it possible for farmers to supply more of this raw material to the industry than earlier expected.
The plant, commissioned last week in Lasada, Igbese community in Ogun State, the ethanol factory will produce nine million litres per annum of extra neutral alcohol, requiring approximately 250 tons of cassava per day.
Already over 8,000 farmers located within 70-km radius of Igbesa covering Ogun and Oyo states, southwest Nigeria, have been engaged and the factory is providing more than 40,000 indirect jobs to people in the area, Chairman of AADL, Mr. Ola Rosiji, said.

Read More: http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/nama-spends-n200m-to-calibrate-navaids-in-26-airports/

Written By OLUSEGUN KOIKI