By Rose Oranye
Anambra State Government under the leadership of Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo is strategically keying into the national policy on transportation while it considers floating an airline or partnering other airlines to meet people's demands.
The state's Commissioner for
Transport, Patricia Igwebuike disclosed this at the just concluded 9th All
Nigeria Airport Business Summit and Expo, with theme, "Addressing Airport
Viability as a Key to Successful Aviation Business Ambition," held at
NIGAV Centre, Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
According to her, the Chinua
Achebe International Cargo and Passenger Airport, situated at Umueri, which
will be three years by December has done over 5,700 flights and over 343,000
passengers.
"To attract footprints
into the airport, we are doing quite a lot; talking to investors. As we speak,
we have more than 30 proposals for concession and management agreements. To
attract airlines, we have seen that there's a lot of demands from people flying
from Anambra or people intending to fly to Anambra and we are talking to other
airlines like Ibom Air and others. The idea is that we are looking at the
numbers (because our governor is a numbers man) to know whether we need as a
state to float an airline or do we need to partner with an airline because the
demand is high," she said.
The commissioner further
explained that with the Onitsha River Seaport, the railway, which the state is
finishing the feasibility study and the land transportation, Anambra is keying
into the national policy on transportation and is not just doing her own thing.
Igwebuike further said the
essence of the Chinua Achebe Airport was on cargo and that the ideology of
building an airport at Umueri started in 1979.
“There’s work in progress at
the airport and we are beautifully situated in Anambra as the gateway to the
South East. Everywhere in Anambra State is a commercial site. Some states are
one-city state but in Anambra, every city, town is viable and that viability is
what necessitated the building of the airport. It's not just something that
came out of the blues.
“As far back as 1979, the idea
of having an airport in that region was muted by the then governor, Jim
Nwobodo. If you check the Anambra State House of Assembly hansard of that era,
it was mentioned that Umueri, then Umuleri, was the best suited place for
having an airport and the ideology continued to Peter Obi era with Orient
Petroleum. It was Governor Obiano that started implementing because the land,
although was acquired but it was not paid for in terms of compensation. It was
Governor Obiano that paid the compensation and implemented the construction of
the airport and the airport is mainly for cargo and passengers.
"The cargo aspect of it is
because we are a commercial state; we build, we sell. All the statistics will
tell you that a great percentage of the imports in the Southern part of
Nigeria, more than 50 percent return to Anambra State. So that's the concept
behind the airport," she said, adding that the future is bright for the
airport and the state.
Oranye is of the Ministry of
Information, Anambra State
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