Bayelsa Assures On Plan For Cargo Airport By 2015

The Bayelsa Government on Monday reiterated its commitment to completing the on-going multi-billion naira state Cargo Airport by Oct. 2015.

Mr Lawrence Ewrudiakpor, the State commissioner for Works and Infrastructural Development, disclosed this to newsmen in Amassoma, Southern-Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

The commissioner said that the cargo airport was necessary as it would enable the state to key into the global economy as one of the economic hubs.

“This airport is a cargo airport; it is not the ordinary regular passenger airport; from the report available to me, the project manager has just informed me that we have sand-filled over 2 kilometre of the runway.

“And what we need is about 3.5 kilometres; and you can see that they’ve already started the vertical drain.

“It makes it easier for the sand to settle and as far as the sand settle, they sand-fill the second round of sand-fill, then, they will be ready to do the civil work. So, it’s a faster way of getting the airport ready.

“Nobody can take us seriously in terms of investment, industrialisation, tourism, even revenue generation, if we don’t have an airport or have a deep seaport because these are the two major means of transportation in Nigeria and most parts of Africa.

“The long-term benefit is unprecedented because markets from Onitsha, Aba, and even Port Harcourt will come here because you cannot go to Port Harcourt as soon as this airport is ready.

“All you need to do is to bring your cargo here; if you have a cargo for the East, you bring it here. And we are still standing by our October 2015 date by which the first plane will land in Bayelsa.“

The commissioner urged all the people of Bayelsa to support the Restoration Agenda of the state government, saying that the government was ready to provide infrastructure for the people.

Ewrudiakpor said that the importance of infrastructure to investment all over the world could not be over-emphasised.

He added that the availability of infrastructure in the state would attract both local and foreign investors to the state. (NAN)

SOURCE; LEADERSHIP

http://leadership.ng/news/374729/bayelsa-assures-plan-cargo-airport-2015