Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu expressed satisfaction with ongoing work at the Obudu Cargo Airport, pledging his administration’s commitment to the completion of the project within the contractual timeframe.
The governor was at the project site on an assessment tour of state projects in the Northern Senatorial District.
He said “I am very impressed at the quality and the level of work done here. I think the airport is actually ready to go. As we can see, everything is on ground, it is just the tarmac, which is at its completion stage.”
“The contractors who have been working with regulatory officials from the aviation agencies have assured me that if the necessary support is provided this place will be running within six months.
“For us, this project is very important because we want this area to start generating wealth for Cross River State. We have the ranch, which has been there for decades, and it is time to make it work again. This airport is the main facility that will effectively ensure mobility and traffic to the ranch.
“I have checked and assessed the work done so far and it is impressive.”
Concerning the Bebi airstrip, Gov. Otu said the state government is planning to float an aviation school at the facility to complement its functioning.
Speaking earlier, the Managing Director of CIBA, Engr. Josiah Samuel, contractors of the Obudu Cargo Airport, is optimistic of the airport completion with adequate support from the state government.
“From what you can see, a lot has gone in here, I have assured His Excellency that with adequate support from the government within six months this airport, which is of international standard, will be operational.
“The runway is over three kilometres comparable to any other international airport passenger cargo in Nigeria.
“The Control Tower is ready, all navigational equipment are in place. For the runway, where we are standing now is the binders course of 60 metres and on top of this, we are to add another 70 metres of wearing course for maximum thickness.
“You have airports with 2 kilometer runways, but this is 3.2 kilometres in addition to the skipping area all together we have over 5 kilometres. What we have here is comparable to any other international cargo/passenger airport,” he assured.
By Victor Kachi
