After several shifts of the delivery date for the new international terminal building at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, the Federal Government has finally fixed October for the commissioning.
Managing Director/CEO, Federal Airports Authority (FAAN) Engr. Saleh Dunoma, at the sidelines of President Muhammadu Buhari’s inspection of the ongoing construction work at the terminal, said the terminal will be ready by August, but commissioning will be sometime in October, 2018.
“We are pressuring the contractor to finish in August, so that we can start operations in October and all the stakeholders are working together to ensure this happens,” he explained. He expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done, adding that the train station would be linked to the existing domestic terminal for seamless movement of passengers.
Dunoma said the airport when commissioned, will have several facilities including two modern multilevel car parks, a shopping area, among others.
“There is more work going on within the airport because there are two car park buildings to be constructed on both wings of the terminal. There are so many things to be done, but between now and October when we plan to start operations in the new terminal, even the new road network would be completed,” he said.
The new international terminal under construction by the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) is with a loan facility by the FG from the Chinese government.
The Abuja airport is one of the four mega airport terminals being built under a $600 million loan facility from the Chinese government. Others are in Kano, Port Harcourt, and Lagos. The project was fraught with challenges that threatened to cripple the facility.
The Minister of State Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, had lamented last year that the terminal in Abuja was not linked to the old structure, with no apron space provided. He had noted that even if you remove the fire service from there, you would only accommodate at best one large-sized aircraft. He had also complained of the sewer system, power supply, and the control tower that was blocked by the terminal building.
Based on the above issues, Sirika had said then, that “even if the terminal building is complete, it will take time for them to become operational.” He also assured that government “will do everything possible to put them to use as soon as possible”, without stating how early.
That assurance appears to have been addressed, as the Managing Director of FAAN said the issues have been largely addressed.
On the relocation of the control tower, he said: “It has nothing to do with the terminal building, but those issues are going to be handled in the next stage. And that will not stop us from using the terminal building.” On power, he said government has approved for an independent power supply for the airport.
On water supply, he said the Minister of the FCT has instructed that the airport be connected to the city main water supply system. “By October, they will all be functional and that is when we will start using the terminal building,” he said.
Our correspondent, who went round the facilities, reports that most of the equipment and facilities are being installed while some are being test-run, like escalators and computers.
Facilities being provided at the terminal include modern carousels, at least six of them; large check-in counters with self check-in facilities, premium lounges, about ten boarding gates, wellness centre, shopping area, duty free shopping, cafes, hotel area, escalators, lifts, and food court, among others. The building is also being linked to the existing terminal building, though it has already been linked to the airport’s rail station.
When the facility is commissioned, all international flights will move into the facility while the existing terminal will only serve domestic operations. When this happens, the congestion at the airport will be eased, with user experience improved.
Additionally, when the national carrier, Nigeria Air, begins operations, the facility will be used as its major hub.
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