Governor David Umahi confirms that FG officials are arriving tomorrow, Thursday 27 April 2023, to commission Ebonyi International Cargo Airport.
Umahi told newsmen after yesterday’s cabinet meeting in Abakaliki that his administration has completed the airport construction project.
Consequently, two Airpeace aircraft will land at the airport tomorrow to signal its readiness for flights, he said.
According to him, both test flights will originate from Abuja and Lagos.
They will convey federal officials invited to commission the airport and other state government projects executed by the Umahi administration.
Other citizens of the state coming to witness the projects commissioning will also join the flights, Umahi added.
About the airport
Ebonyi International Cargo airport is located at Onueke in Ezza LGA, 26 kilometers from Abakaliki, the capital city.
Google estimates a 32-minute ride from Abakaliki to the airport under stress-free conditions.
The facility is accessed through a flyover on the Abakaliki-Afikpo Expressway, which connects a 4-kilometer dual carriageway, both newly constructed.
Besides the new flyover and road, the airport project includes a terminal building, runway, apron, and a control tower.
The Governor’s assistant on Infrastructural Development, Frank Ngwu, announced that the airport features “the largest terminal building” and “the single biggest apron” in Nigeria.
Ebonyi Airport will primarily handle cargo and will therefore “accommodate the biggest aircraft in the world,” Ngwu said.
Federal authorities granted the request of the State to build an airport on 6 March 2019.
Construction began in September and was billed for completion within 18 months, although it took nearly four years.
Criticism and praise
Umahi initially faced widespread criticism on the project, given that the state is surrounded by nearby airports at Enugu, Calabar, Owerri and Markurdi.
Others however sympathised with the governor’s desperation to remove Ebonyi from its state of underdevelopment and place it as a business and tourist destination.
This seeming desperation is found in the historic signature projects he initiated and completed during an 8-year rule.
Additionally, the governor, who finishes his term next month, hopes that the airport will help evacuate agricultural products and generally stimulate international trade.
Enugu Metro will shortly verify and feature these projects and their impacts on the economy of the State.
FG to commission Ebonyi Airport tomorrow
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