TheCable

Hadi Sirika, minister of state for aviation, says the federal executive council (FEC) has approved an independent power system for the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja.

This, he said, will end frequent cases of outages in the airport.

Briefing journalists at the end of yesterday’s FEC meeting, Sirika said the airport had witnessed a series of challenges in recent times particularly on the first working day of the year.

He listed such challenges to include: power outages, water, sewage and apron tiling challenges.

The power supply crisis, he said, prompted the approval of independent power system by FEC yesterday to avert recurrent cases of power outages.

He added that further challenges plaguing the airport would subsequently be tackled.

“Today, at FEC, of course, as you are aware that we had challenges on the first day of work at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport new terminal building that you call Chinese terminal. It is a new terminal building.

“We have challenges of power, water, sewage, apron tiling, etc. So, in our efforts to deal with those challenges, we are putting up an independent power system at the airport which has been approved by FEC today.

“Subsequently, we will also attend to the water supply challenges, sewage challenges, connectivity between the halls at the terminal, the apron tiles and the fire station that is broken using the apron and perhaps also, the control tower that cannot see the other side sections of the airport. All of these will be attended to in phases preparatory to full rehabilitation of the airport,” he said.

In his own briefing, the minister of power, Babatunde Fashola, said the council approved N5.44 billion for the re-construction of Ugbokolo road section of the ninth mile Otukpo road.

He said the road is a 36-kilometre road which links Enugu section of the road meant to boost agricultural investment adding that the project will be completed within 24 months

“My ministry had only one memo today and it was for the ninth mile Ugbokolo Road section of the ninth mile Otukpo Road that links Enugu to Benue State. The Benue section is already under construction,” he said.

“So, what we ‘ve just done is to connect a 36 kilometre-road to the Enugu section to the road. This is a major agrarian connectivity in support of our agricultural policies. The council approved that today and the award was to the existing contractor who is already working on the Benue section.

“So, he should have a seamless deployment of machines and materials to site and we expect that it should be completed in 24 months. The contract sum is N5.44 billion.”