Ugwuanyi Constitutes Committee on Expansion of Enugu Airport

Hamid Adedeji

The administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, in keeping with its concerted efforts to encourage speedy intervention on the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, by the federal government, yesterday announced its plan to constitute a stakeholders’ committee that would look into and resolve all issues around the expansion of the airport.

The committee members, according to a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ogbuagu Anikwe, will comprise officials of the Federal Ministry of Aviation, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority.

The State Ministries of Lands & Infrastructure, Commerce & Industry, and the management of the ENPOWER Free Trade Zone will join the committee, the statement added.

The state government, which noted the importance of the International Airport to the people of the South East geo-political zone, reiterated its commitment to continue to support “every effort required to be made in order to get it functioning at optimum capacity and efficiency”.

The statement explained that the stakeholders would have to unravel what appeared to be a disagreement among federal authorities operating in Enugu State regarding ownership of vast hectares of land that the state government has so far approved around the airport for their use.

It said: “If at the end of the meeting, it is established that any of the parties still needed more land, especially for the airport project, the Enugu State government will promptly attend to this need.

“At the moment, it is important to emphasise that Enugu State has donated vast tracts of land for the airport expansion project and is also working to relocate further identified encumbrances such as a local market, in order to encourage the federal authorities to speedily complete the project”.