UYO | Akwa Ibom International Airport | Under Construction

[friendsofthecity]

Does that airport meet international standard?I am still wondering how that airport can make international rating.

[megacity]

supposedly it should later on. The current terminal they are using is suppose to be temporary because they plan to build a larger one. I don't know if and when the construction of a larger terminal will start.

[beccariamario]

Originally Posted by megacity

supposedly it should later on. The current terminal they are using is suppose to be temporary because they plan to build a larger one. I don't know if and when the construction of a larger terminal will start.

When is it supposed to be built?
I didn't heard about this new therminal.
Mario

[megacity]

When is it supposed to be built?
I didn't heard about this new therminal.
Mario

Ibom airport, best in the world — Idongesit Nkanga

Former military administrator of Akwa Ibom State, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga, is the Chairman of Akwa Ibom State Airport implementation committee. He spoke with Gill Nsa-Abasi on the project and the prospect of the airport.

As the chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Airport implementation committee, we believe you are in a good position to let the public know how N9.5b provided for in the 2010 Budget of Akwa Ibom state will be spent on the airport project which is already operating commercial local flights.

Yes, we have started running commercial flights since 25th of November last year. At a time, we had a short break, but now it has stabilised. The thrust of the airport, which we said from the beginning, is the building of the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facilities (MRO). We are also adding on cargo, which was meant for phase two. We have phase one and phase two, and what we have done so far is just enough to get the airport operational in terms of passenger traffic. The major thing that will make the airport profitable for the state, because it is a business venture, is the need to put more money. If you go there now, the hanger is currently under construction. Even when we finish that frame, we need to equip it. All the seven workshops will be equipped. You know it’s a lot of money buying equipment. That is part of the expenditure. Airport business is very expensive and you have to put a lot of money into it before you can get something out of it. Yes, we have put a lot of money in, so far but we need to put in more. We have not even started the cargo area, and there is a lot of pressure on us now so that bigger aircraft can start coming in with their cargo. That is why we built the airport in the first place; basically for the MRO and cargo so that we can receive cargo aircrafts like 147 and airbus 380 and the rest. There is pressure for them to come in but you see, if they come in they must have where they can conserve some of the items they will come in with especially the ones that are perishable like food stuffs. So the areas by which we can conserve those things have not done, the airdrome has not been done. If they come in now, they will probably use the airpron of the MRO. If the 1747 flight comes in and another comes in, it will be tight, so there is still a lot to be done for us to really get to a point where we can say, ‘yes, we have an airport’. If it was an airport just for transporting passengers to Abuja, Lagos and other places, we wouldn’t need to put in what we have so far. I appeal to the people to understand that we use money to make money. Let us put in more money so that we can get to the point that we can start having returns on our investment.

Some people believe there is a sort of competition between the Calabar Airport and the Ibom Airport as Ibom Airport was to be only MRO and Cargo without passenger flights while Calabar, which is also an international airport, was designated for passengers, but Ibom Airport is now performing same function. Would you please clear the air on this?

I think it is a misunderstanding, I am not saying it is false because right from the beginning, the concept of Ibom Airport was clear, the main thrust is the MRO and Cargo,but if you have an airport, passenger traffic is just a routine thing. Everything is there, so you can’t tell the flight operators not to t carry passengers. In any case, there is no basis for competition. Calabar Airport is a federal airport and already, it has been listed for concession. The basis for comparism is just not there. The truth about it is that, if we are talking of passenger traffic, 80 per cent of the passengers that use Calabar are from Akwa Ibom. You cannot force people to continue going to Calabar when there is an airport here. It does not make sense. Calabar Airport has to do things to generate passengers. Like tourism, which is being promoted there, if they improve on it, people will go to Calabar. They should not expect passengers to come from Akwa Ibom, that will not last. In any case, we are seriously looking at cargo because of our location which is within the gulf region, and we have better proximity to the oil and gas area in comparism to Cross River. So, a lot of those people are putting pressure on us to speed up the construction because they need to bring in things through here. Aba people who are in commerce will like to use Ibom airport. However, it is important to state that the two airports can strive profitably. What we need to do is to build up and develop our area so that people will come in. We should concentrate on attracting people to our place and not sharing passengers.

There was a report that the Akwa Ibom State government is engaged in training locals who can handle the airport as it was conceptualised, what is the situation now?

Yes, that is true and it is ongoing. Some of the people we sent earlier have graduated and they have returned. I attended one of such graduation ceremonies last December in Florida. We have trainees that will eventually handle the maintenance, the cargo and the MRO areas. We will have about seven workshops, and as they come in they will work under supervision. We are almost finalising negotiations with one of the world’s renowned operators that will handle the Ibom airport; the MRO and the Cargo sections in particular. Many airlines in the country and in the sub region who take their aircrafts to this operator overseas will now come here because the facilities and the experts will be here. So we had to train our people so that we can benefit from this and also provide them with employment.

How soon do you think the airport will be due for commissioning?

Well, commissioning can be done at whatever point. For MRO, we are projecting that, all things being equal, by September it should be ready and become operational by the end of the year. We can actually start Cargo operations now, but it will depend on the dimension, like the type of cargo they are bringing. Some airlines may want to use a warehouses in the town, and although this will not be convenient, we could allow them and the customs department will inspect what they have and carry out their duties. So, we need our warehouse to be in place as soon as possible. So, if government wants to do the commissioning, they can do it at any time of their choice, but there will always be development and expansion at the airport. There is hardly anytime you can say an airport is complete, I can refer to Heathrow Airport which is just building terminal five. The airport started many years ago. The airport is always a construction area. Modification, expansion and construction are always ongoing at airports. The airport for now is operational and it is busy managing passenger traffic, so if they want to commission it, they can do it now but we want to get some other areas ready as well. Remember also that we are still going to have a second runway. We have not done the international terminal yet because the volume of the passengers is not yet enough. What we have there now is the interim. The budget is even small compared to what we have to do.

Is the present budgetary allocation enough to take you to an appreciable level?

Well, it’s enough for us to continue working but definitely not enough to cover all that has to be done. Aviation is very expensive.

It ‘s been rumoured that the state government entered a controversial agreement with Arik Airlines, the one that did your inaugural flight. What is the situation?

Well, what is important is that the place is busy, recording passenger traffic. It does not matter whether it is Arik or not. In fact, we are going to have more airlines operating here because some of them have been coming to do their due diligence check. Whether an airline operates or not is actually the prerogative of the airline. As a government, ours is to provide the conducive environment for their business to thrive. Why we even had that agreement with Arik was to encourage them because they were the first to break the ice. Now, everybody knows that it is a very viable route. Arik has come back since then but only on chartered flight. So, at any time they can come in; we are not selecting. Any airline can come in. Sometimes, airlines have some internal problems with a route and they reserve the right to withdraw and reorganise themselves. So, eventually we are not giving any specific encouragement to any airline other than ensuring that the facilities work and are up to date.

Talking about the facilities, what would you say about the safety standards at the airport?

From inception, we wanted the airport to be of international standard because we knew that most of the flights that will come to the airport will be international, not just passengers, but somebody bringing a 747 from Europe. You have to have what it takes for that flight. That is why we said we were building the airport with the longest runway in the country. Ours is the longest in the country. It’s a category two runway. It is only Murtala Mohammed airport that has the internal side as category two runway. The others are category one. This means that, anytime visibility is less then 800 metres in other airports you can’t go in but here with visibility as low as 300 metres, you can come in with the assurance of safety and reliability of equipment, that is why it is category two. Of course, we know the problem with airports which usually do not have fences, but in Ibom airport we have two levels of fencing. The perimeter fencing and the airside fencing, so the possibility of cows or other animals straying into the airpot is not there. This has to do with safety; it has to do with security. The equipment we have in the airport are state of the art. If you have the opportunity, you can actually stop by and talk to the people there. We have people from NAMA, FAN and NIMET. They are all there because our people are working with them. So, talking about the quality of equipment in the airport, you can’t surpass it anywhere in this country. We decided to do this not because we want to build the best airport in Nigeria, but because we want to build the best in the world. We are doing it for Nigeria and Africa and not just Akwa Ibom.

How do you visualise the impact of the airport on the people of Nigeria and the West African sub region?

Absolutely, it will be impactful. I am happy that the state government is doing other things to complement this effort. For instance, they are developing a new seaport within the area. With an international airport of that size and a big seaport there, this area is already open to the rest of the world. There is nothing that opens up a place more than that. Lagos will not be what it is today if not for the international airport and the seaport. So, in the next five to six years, the entire area here will change.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/...ongesit-nkanga

[Akwafina]

Land , Sea and Air Transport facilities in Akwa Ibom State and Adjoining areas



Runway 03 AKIIA





Aircraft on Taxiway at the Akwa Ibom International Airport(AKIIA)

[Akwafina]

Sections of The Akwa Ibom International Airport(AKIIA) under construction

[Akwafina]

Aircraft Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Hangar under construction at The Akwa Ibom International Airport(AKIIA)

[Akwafina]

First International Passenger Airlift at the Airport to Jerusalem











Airport Staff on duty

[Akwafina]

A Section of the Control Tower

[Akwafina]

source- http://www.aksgonline.com/articlePage.aspx?qrID=956

A visit to the airport reveals that it has been playing host to an unprecedented number of passengers since the commencement of commercial operations there, and of recent, owing to maintenance currently going on at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport in Calabar, and the fact that most air travelers to this part of Nigeria prefer the world’s newest airport, passenger traffic has skyrocketed with its resultant booming revenue generation. But in the view of Austin Thomas, a businessman and regular user of the airport, ”the vision of Governor Akpabio in seeing to the realization of this project has saved us all the harrowing experience of traveling several hours to either Port Harcourt or Override for the purpose of making a less than an hour trip to Lagos or Abuja.”

The chart and table showing the year on year comparison of passenger traffic and total revenue on passenger volume from the date of its inaugural flight till date made available by the airport authorities, show an outstanding growth in commercial activities at the airport.

For instance, in 2011, just between January and April, a total of 57,198 air passengers used the Akwa Ibom International Airport. March had the highest volume with 15,715 while January, February and April followed with 15,292; 13,899 and 12,292 passengers respectively. May, may break this record.

And in 2010, a total of 138,699 passengers either touched down at or took off from the airport. In December alone, about 16,395 used the airport. There were also great passenger flows in August and September with 15,393 and 15,331 passengers for each. They were closely followed by the November and October traffic with13,832 and 13,553 passengers respectively.

The chart also showed that the highest volume of the travelers in 2010 came from the Lagos-Uyo and Uyo-Lagos routes with 5,991 and 5,041 passengers. Abuja-Uyo had 3,388 while Uyo-Abuja had 2,515 air travelers who used the Akwa Ibom International Airport. As the airport becomes the hub of activities, it goes with a commensurate revenue spinning for the airport and Akwa Ibom State at large.

[Deebo.]

Lovely airport!

[Akwafinaa]

Updates. I passed through the Airport on the 26th of December and took this pixs. Hope you like them.

MRO Hangar



MRO Hangar & Control Tower



MRO Hangar



Control Tower & Fire Fighting Station



Car Park @ interim Airport Terminal Building

[Akwafinaa]

Interim Terminal Building




Interim Terminal Building

[Tbite]

What is that building? A Hanger?

[Akwafinaa]

Originally Posted by Tbite

What is that building? A Hanger?

yes the MRO hangar. It has a 130m gate. Happy new year mate.

[Akwafinaa]

Airport Administrative Building
















Airport Administrative Building

[Akwafinaa]

It is funny many people on this forum said the state does not need an Airport because Uyo is 50km from Calabar and 100km from Port-Harcourt. But in actual fact Uyo is 100km or 1hr 48mins away by road from Calabar and 133km by road from Port Harcourt or 2 hrs drive. This state really needs this airport and it is paying off. Travel time has been reduced, Exxon Mobil, NNPC, RUSAL-ALSCON, etc makes use of the same airport to move it's staff around the country, flight trainings that hitherto had to be done at other airports like Lagos, PH and Calabar are now done at this Airport and the MRO is steadily reaching completion.

[GAR3TH]

[GAR3TH]

fixed

[Naijaborn]

Why do u have the word "fixed" everywhere, Gareth?