…Abia Airport To Offer Cargo Services
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has said that the new international airport to be cited in Abia State will transform the state into a commercial hub of the South East region.
The aviation minister said this on Tuesday at the flag-off ceremony of the Abia International Airport in Nsulu, Abia State.
Abia Airport project is primarily federal governmentnt initiative, with the state government contributing through runway upgrades.
The airport, initially an airstrip, was upgraded to an international airport.
Keyamo, during his keynote address, explained that the airport was a recommendation of President Bola Tinubu as part of his agenda to develop the South East.
Keyamo said, “We held Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting yesterday, and when I told him I was coming, he was very glad to dispatch me to this occasion.
“It was shortly after we took office and I was briefing the president about the aviation sector that the president asked me why Abia does not have at least an airstrip.
“He told me he doesn’t want any part of this country to be cheated, and in the South East, it is only in Abia State that you cannot land an aircraft. He said, we should make sure in the 2024 budget we give Abia an airstrip.”
Keyamo said the president’s motivation is propelled by his love for the the governor. “He (Tinubu) loves his spirit. I know comments he has made about the governor of this state and how much his people here love him.
“When I called Dr. Alex Otti and broke the news to him about an airstrip, he said no. I will partner with you; I will also put in counterpart funding and let us upgrade it to an international airport. This was what happened.
“Because Abia is the heart of industrialisation of the South East, it doesn’t add up at all that the heart of industrialization of the South East doesn’t have an airport and I can tell you that there are already plans that it is not going to be only a passenger airport but a cargo airport too.”
Keyamo said most of the beautiful products that are made in Nigeria originate from Abia adding, “there is no reason we cannot manufacture and process goods from here and export directly from Abia instead of taking them elsewhere—for logistic purposes.”
The minister further dismissed critics who claim that several airports in the country are not viable.
Keyamo said, “About the profitability of an airport, people sometimes criticize the citing of an airport that they think are not commercially viable.
“What comes first, is it the chicken or the egg? Because it is the airports that actually generate economic activity. So, it is not the other way around, where you have to first generate economic activities to the zenith before you give an airport.
“It is not an argument to say we do not have enough economic activities. Look at the potential of Abia State as an industrial hub of the South East. An airport will only be an enabler for that. But most importantly, an airport is also a social infrastructure, not just an economic one.
“You must be able to access every part of this country by air. Because you never know when even a part of this country may be cut off by a flood or natural disaster and you cannot reach the people of that community to deliver medical or humanitarian relief by air.”
He added that “It was not good that Abia had been cut off from the aviation ecosystem of this country.”