Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has disclosed plans by the Federal Government to address infrastructural challenges in the aviation industry.
The minister said equipment like airfield lighting, conveyor belts, cooling systems at all the terminals, and completion of all ongoing projects formed the short term planning of the present government.
Amaechi also restated that issue of safety and security at the airports across the country was non-negotiable.
The minister stated these yesterday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, when
he toured facilities in company of Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika and heads of other agencies in the sector.
He also assured that the Muhammadu Buhari administration would explore all opportunities in the sector, including partnering with private investors to ensure massive growth in the system.
He lamented the current 1.4 per cent Gross Domestic Product, GDP, contribution to the economy by the industry, stressing that countries like Singapore, South Korea, Ethiopia and others built their economies through their aviation industry.
He insisted that Nigeria should not be an exception and that the current government would ensure that aviation was used as a catalyst to develop the country.
On safety and security, the minister urged the agencies, especially Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, to beef up surveillance.
He also emphasised that government would change the current security apparatus in the industry in order to further improve efficiency.
He assured that the ongoing construction of new terminals in Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Enugu and Port Harcourt by the government through the $500m Chinese loans would be completed by December 2016.
He said: “Safety and security can’t be negotiated by this government. All instruments and facilities that require safety, we must look for funds to put them in right shape. There would be no sacred cows to move the sector forward especially in the agencies.
“I am impressed with what I saw at the Lagos Airport, but we still need to continue to improve on our infrastructure like conveyor belts and others. We need to change the two old conveyor belts at the terminal, which we intend to do within two months.
“We also want to quickly finish the ongoing construction of the five new terminals. We have put a date of December 2016 for this. The completion of the new terminal in Lagos would increase the capacity to 30 million passengers annually.
The current terminal can accommodate 15 million passengers annually.
Source: National Mirror Online News
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