Two Months After Commissioning, $111m Port Harcourt Airport Yet To Become Operational

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Two Months After Commissioning, $111m Port Harcourt Airport Yet To Become Operational

Two Months After Commissioning, $111m Port Harcourt Airport Yet To Become Operational
“It
is bad that two months after the commissioning of Port Harcourt
airport, we are yet to use the new terminal. We all knew from the
beginning that the terminal was not ready, but the minister forced the
contractor to commission it. Now, months after the forceful
commissioning, no one is able to use the terminal. As at Monday, serious
work was still ongoing at the terminal and it may not be ready by March
next year. That is the challenge we have been facing in this sector,” a
source told SaharaReporters.

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORKDEC 26, 2018

The
commissioning of the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA),
Omegwa, Port Harcourt on October 25, 2018 was with fanfare, but two
months after the inauguration, the airport is yet to be opened for use.

Investigation
revealed that the airport, which was constructed by the China Civil
Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd. (CCECC) Nigeria, for
$111.1million was yet to be completed by the contractor.

A source
close to the Ministry of Transport, Aviation Unit, told our
correspondent on Wednesday that the new terminal may not be ready for
use until March 2019.

According to the source, Hadi Sirika,
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Aviation, had “hoodwinked President
Muhammadu Buhari to commission the terminal after the crisis that
trailed the failed attempt on a new national carrier for the country”.

It
was gathered that the contracting firm had told Sirika that the new
terminal was not ready for use, but the minister had insisted on
commissioning the terminal at the time in order to get commendation from
the president.

Investigation by SaharaReporters revealed that
intense work was still ongoing at the new terminal, as several equipment
were still being fixed by the contractors.

Speaking on the state
of affairs at the airport, the source said: “It is bad that two months
after the commissioning of Port Harcourt airport, we are yet to use the
new terminal. We all knew from the beginning that the terminal was not
ready, but the minister forced the contractor to commission it.

“Now,
months after the forceful commissioning, no one is able to use the
terminal. As at Monday, serious work was still ongoing at the terminal
and it may not be ready by March next year. That is the challenge we
have been facing in this sector.”

At the commissioning in
October, President Muhammadu Buhari had said that the new terminal would
further open up the economic activities in the state as goods and cargo
movement would increase in the state and other neighbouring states.

Buhari
said the new terminal would accommodate at least seven million
passengers annually, adding that it would further bring the nation’s
aviation industry up to international standards.

He emphasised
that plans were underway to link the Port Harcourt Airport to the
ongoing construction of the Warri railway line, noting that this would
also make air travel affordable and convenient for passengers.

Speaking
at the commissioning, Buhari had said: “The concession of four
international airports in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Abuja will
improve infrastructure in Nigeria. Our desire is to make air travel more
affordable to all and this we are achieving with the commissioning of
these new terminals. I want to commend the Chinese Exim Bank for their
financial support towards the completion of this project”.

Also,
Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State, had stated that the South South
region was happy with the project, stating that it would foster further
investment in the state.

“I can tell you this today that the
people of Rivers State and the Niger Delta are happy with you Mr.
President. This terminal here will help the drive of the state to grow
the economy and it will attract investment to the state. What has
happened here shows that Rivers State is safe, Rivers State is secure
and if it was not, CCECC will not have been here to construct this,”
Wike said.

Source:- Saharareporters

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