Ogun Indicates Interest On Dry Port Construction To Complement Cargo Airport

Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun at the weekend reiterated commitment for the  construction of a dry port to complement the soon to be completed cargo airport.

The governor stated that his administration would soon award the contract for the reconstruction of the Ikenne township road, saying that the road would begin from Aiyepe junction.

Governor Abiodun, who made this known during the 47th annual Ikenne Ereke Day celebration with the theme ‘Divine Year of Accomplishment’, held at the Ereke Civic Center, Ikenne, said that the reconstruction of the township road would further complement the completion of the stretch of the road coming from Sagamu.

The governor also reiterated that the Ogun State Agro Cargo Airport being constructed in the state would be commissioned with commercial activities commencing at the airport, noting that a dry port would also berth in the state.

“That airport two years ago was nothing but a forest. The pessimists said to us we could not build it; some people called it a dump site. By the grace of the Almighty God, we will be commissioning that airport before the end of this year 2023, and that airport will resume commercial operation. Plane will be departing from Ikerne local government and going to Abuja.

“In our relentless efforts to make our state more accessible to business, we have unfolded our multi-model transport master plan, which included the construction of this airport.

“In furtherance of that implementation, we will soon be establishing the Ogun State Dry Port which is a port without a sea at the Kajola-Papalanto axis, thereby further facilitating our manufacturers to ship their raw materials from anywhere in the world or export their finished goods from Kajola in Ogun State to the rest of the world,” he noted.

He also disclosed that the model school built and abandoned by the immediate past administration in the state would soon be converted into a World Class Centre of Excellence by his administration.

“I will soon be awarding the Ikenne township road contract, and that will start from the Aiyepe junction to Uren River. That will complete the stretch coming from Sagamu, and it will give this town the beauty it deserves.

 

“We have completed the Sagamu-Ikenne road. I know some of our brothers and sisters in Ikenne would have wanted us to dualize it. As a government, our decisions are driven by data. That road does not enjoy enough traffic to allow us to dualize it. So, we looked at the cost benefit and decided that we would complete one side of the road, and when that traffic justifies it, we will now complete the other part.

“We will soon be converting the Model School in Ikenne to a World Class Centre of Excellence,” he said

Governor Abiodun, while ascribing the rise of the Internally Generated Revenue of the state to the strong political will of his administration, said that his government would continue to do everything within its capacity to soar higher.

“I remain very humble to be the governor of this great state; the state with the most improved internally generated revenue in the country according to Budgit and by the grace of God, we are the third largest in internally generated revenue from the very back position that we occupied in the recent past.

“This has been possible because of our strong political will and dogged determination to change the old order and move the state towards sustainable growth and prosperity,” he added.

Earlier in her remarks, the wife of the former Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, felicitated with the sons and daughters of the town, describing them as special people.

By Roland Ekama