New Airport Project

BAYELSA NEW AIRPORT PROJECT
In line with our avowed commitment to promote tourism and to make Bayelsa State the preferred tourism and investment
destination, and also coupled with our resolve to open up the state and fast track development in the critical sectors, our
government in partnership with the Federal Government has taken the initiative to drive the new Bayelsa Airport Project.
As part of the decision reached at the last State Executive Council Meeting held in Government House, Yenagoa, where contract
for the clearing of the site for the new airport was awarded, it became imperative to state that the earlier site chosen for the
old airport project was no longer tenable following the unfriendly nature of the environment and the very difficult swampy,
constantly waterlogged terrain which hitherto, hindered meaningful construction work to be carried out on the site. In the
circumstance, it is regrettable to note that huge sums of money running into several billions of Naira have been expended on
dredging and sand filling for the past 6 years since the idea of the old airport project was muted.
Moved by this sordid development and the need to rapidly bring to fruition his promise of restoration and development in all
sphere of human endeavour in Bayelsa State, His Excellency, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State, deemed it
necessary to seize the initiative by working in concert with the relevant Federal Government agencies in the aviation sector, to
relocate the site of the new Bayelsa Airport to an ideal location certified suitable to accommodate the new airport. The new site
is a large expanse of land, mostly made up of dry land requiring little or no sand-filling and located within the upland area of
Yenagoa Local Government, with a substantial part of the land cutting through Kolokuma Opokuma Local Government Area and
a slight portion taken from Southern Ijaw axis.
Already as earlier stated, contract for the clearing of the site have been awarded and in no time the construction of the airport
runway and installation of state-of-the art flight navigational equipments will also commence.
Bayelsa State Government is leading the project initiative for the new airport and it is doing so with the active collaboration of
the Federal Government. Governor Dickson strongly considers the airport project as very critical and pivotal to our development
as a state. Hence, he is personally spearheading and leading this project initiative. The target date set for the completion of the
new airport is said to be less than two years.
A signed press release by the Chief Press Secretary to Bayelsa State Governor, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, hinted that the cost for
the execution of the new airport project will be borne by both the state and the federal government. However, the cost will be
a lot less, indeed far lot less from what has been budgeted and spent so far, including the series of variation carried out on the
old airport project.
Signed By
Daniel Iworiso-Markson
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor