The Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, has called on stakeholders in the aviation to collaborate for effective use of the remodelled Benin Airport.
She said aside the general policy of the Federal Government to modernise all airports in the country in compliance with existing international standards and practices, the Benin Airport was accorded priority under the Airport Remodelling Project because of its potential for growth in scheduled flight and cargo operations.
She also stressed its proximity to major industries in the Niger Delta and farm settlements in Edo State.
Oduah, in a paper presented at the opening of the airport on Friday, said one of the major planks of the aviation sector master plan was the development of international cargo terminals across the country.
This, she said, was to encourage the exportation of perishable farm produce by air, to different parts of the world, with attendant economic benefits to all Nigerian farmers and businessmen.
According to her, the remodelled Benin Airport terminal, which has a full complement of modern airport facilities, will not only stimulate air travel in Edo and other surrounding states but also encourage large scale farming and the proliferation of industries.
This, she said would ultimately reduce unemployment among the youths.
“I, therefore, urge the good people of Edo State and other people who reside in this state and beyond to ensure that this airport is adequately utilised, to justify the huge resources spent in transforming it into an airport of choice,” she said.
The minister said the airport was the third to be opened, out of the eleven airports earmarked for completion under the first phase of the Airport Remodelling Programme.
She said the other eight airports – Yola, Jos, Enugu, Owerri, Kano, Kaduna, Calabar and Port-Harcourt International Airport – would be reopened by August this year, about the same time that the second phase of the project would commence.
The project is one of the policies initiated by the government to breathe new life into an industry that had suffered considerable neglect in the past, according to the minister.
Others are the removal of import duties on aircraft spare parts, providing an enabling environment for the purchase of new aircraft by local airlines and the establishment of an intervention fund for local airlines.
“These, among other things, have led to the entrance of new local airlines, which will encourage healthy competition among the airlines and ultimately lead to the lowering of air fares on domestic routes,” she added.
Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomole urged the minister to expedite action on the process of making the airport a 24-hour service in order to maximise its use.
Oshiomole, in his speech, said rather than ask that the Benin Airport be designated an international airport, he would be happy if the Federal Government provided all human and material resources that would make 24-hour flights possible at the airport.
The governor commended the Federal Government for the recent provision of runway lightings at the airport.
