- Set to Catalyse Economic Transformation
The second-anniversary celebration of Chinua Achebe International Passenger and Cargo Airport, Umueri, comes with a special dimension. Ever since Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo CFR renamed the erstwhile Anambra Airport at Umueri to Chinua Achebe International Passenger and Cargo Airport during the 63rd Nigerian Independence Anniversary, which took place at Dr. Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, on October 1, 2023, the fledgling airport has soared into the stratosphere.
A name truly matters. Chinua
Achebe, whom Governor Soludo described as "an African and global hero,”
has bequeathed the ultra-modern airport a commanding name to fly high with. The
Achebe name works like magic anywhere it is deployed. It is noteworthy to
recall that when Chinua Achebe had the tragic accident that paralyzed him, Bard
College in New York, USA, employed "the father of African literature"
and built the special "Achebe House" for him on campus. Global
tourists immediately began flooding to the university wanting to go to
"Achebe House."
It is, therefore, a
masterstroke from Governor Soludo to name the airport after Prof Chinua Achebe.
In this second anniversary of the airport, Achebe's global clout is already
bringing dividends. Governor Soludo's vision of making Anambra State a
destination of choice instead of a departure lounge has an ennobling emblem in
Chinua Achebe International Passenger and Cargo Airport. The export-oriented
economy that Governor Soludo is knitting together has a solid support base in
the crowd-pulling airport.
The Export Emporium being put
in place by Governor Soludo is destined to soar into the orbit. The Ikenga
Mixed-Use Industrial City Masterplan Development signed with the President of
Mahindra Consulting Engineers Limited is a great leap forward. Anambra
Intra-City Rail has been signed with the senior executives of CPCS Canada that
had undertaken five jobs in Nigeria through varying stages, from design to
execution.
The delivery of the Anambra
Intra-City Rail will connect Awka, Ekwulobia, Nnewi, and Onitsha. The binding
hub is, of course, Chinua Achebe International Passenger and Cargo Airport.
The coming to Anambra of
OMAA/Kojo Motors for the building of the AUU Automotive Industrial Park
deserves celebration. OMAA aims to set up a world-class auto assembly plant to
produce CNG-powered and electric mass transit vehicles at the AUU Automotive
Industrial Park. Evans Pharmaceuticals and Dozzy Group are setting up
pharmaceutical manufacturing and other allied businesses at Pharmaceutical Industrial
Park, Ogboji.
There is the Anambra State
Pharmaceutical Distribution Hub at Oba. The esteemed Sundry Markets Limited is
poised for the completion of the Awka Shopping Mall through a Joint Venture
Partnership within 15 months. The Neni Water Scheme, a Public Private Community
Partnership (PPCP), is being undertaken in partnership with Birsal Water
Limited.
Governor Soludo has, through
personal example, shown that no nook or cranny of Anambra State would be left
out in the general development of the State. He has dared all the risks to
undertake a trip by boat, keke, and okada to the remote island of Olumbanasa,
where no former Anambra State Governor had ever gone before. From the airport
to the well over 400 kilometers of contracted roads and the tributaries of
rivers, development is ongoing everywhere.
There is no debating the fact
that Anambra has the highest population density per square kilometer in
Nigeria. Anambra ranks as the number one out of the 17 southern states of
Nigeria on the ease of doing business. In the words of Mr. Governor,
"Anambra State is a locational hub." It is little wonder, then, why
the Chairman of AfreximBank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, endorses Governor Soludo as
having ushered in a new lease of life into the state's growth trajectory.
As a testament to the assured
growth of Anambra State, AfreximBank is partnering with Anambra, the acclaimed
"light of the nation," in a $200 million industrial city project to
bring export-oriented businesses into the state.
In marking the auspicious
occasion of the second anniversary of the Chinua Achebe International Passenger
and Cargo Airport, it is equally crucial to celebrate the coming to fruition of
Governor Soludo's drive to turn Anambra State into a livable and prosperous
homeland that will be a destination point instead of a departure lounge.
Sir Paul Nwosu
Commissioner for Information
Anambra State
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