The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says the new terminal at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, currently under construction will be inaugurated by Feb. 2021.
Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, the Managing Director, FAAN, gave the assurance during an oversight visit by the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation in Lagos on Thursday.
Yadudu noted that the terminal would have been completed this December, but the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic slowed down its completion.
He noted that the new terminal was presently under construction by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and would be delivered to it before January while it would be put to use by February.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chinese company had sourced about 500 million dollars for the construction of the four new terminals in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Abuja “with counterpart funding of 100 million dollars by the Federal Government.’’
Yadudu noted that the terminal was one of the four terminals the Federal Government embarked upon in 2013 with completion date set for 24 months.
“While some of the terminals had been inaugurated and currently used by the airlines, regulator, service providers and passengers.
“The Lagos terminal was hampered due to some gaps noticed in the system, which had since been closed,” he said.
The managing director said FAAN had promoted cashless policy and plugged some loopholes to optimise its revenue generation, collection, reduce cost and promote efficiency.
Yadudu noted that FAAN’s management had taken some critical steps to improve revenue generation and curb spending in recent months, assuring that it would continue in that stead.
He listed some of the steps taken to include reduction in all staff related cost to the barest minimum and aggressive debt recovery drive, blocking of revenue loopholes, promotion and enforcement of cashless policy.
Others are continuous strengthening of business and operational excellence by improving on people, processes, platforms and performances.
Yadudu stated that FAAN has strategically positioned itself to ensure that modern and up-to-date high-tech equipment and facilities were put in place to aid better security, safety and comfort for all stakeholders.
He however said that aviation agencies were urgently in need of intervention fund from the Federal Government to further improved on the infrastructural gaps and position the industry for optimum service delivery and contribution to the national economy.
The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Nnolim Nnaji, expressed satisfaction with the job on ground and commended the management of FAAN for making great strides in the pace of the project.
Speaking at the construction site, Nnaji said his committee members were not `armchair legislators’ hence the need to visit project sites and do some mental correlation on the projects before the budget approval. (NAN)
