The board chairman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Abdullahi Gabduje on Tuesday embarked on a tour of the Lagos Airport where he expressed worry about the plethora of abandoned projects at the facility.
The former governor of Kano State who spoke in an interview with journalists said the cost of the projects which were awarded many years ago, not by the present management, had redoubled over the years.
“Some of the challenges, according to them (staff)… are abandoned projects awarded many years ago, not by the present management…the cost has gone high. Some equipment originally put in place are now obsolete according to modern technology. But they have designed a way in order to resolve all such issues. Also financing the abandoned projects, they are sorting them out to see how we can scale some and make better use of them,” he said.
Ganduje, however, commended FAAN for upgrading facilities at the airport.
The board chairman urged the FAAN management to be definitive about budget implementation because of the rampaging runaway inflation.
“We must be conscious of the timeline. If you are giving out a contract you have to make sure of the time you are expecting it.
Ganduje also warned against institutional rivalry.
“Wherever you have a function to be executed by different institutions, sometimes if care is not taken, there will be rivalry and the end of it, whatever you do if the other institution or agency has not done its homework, then you find out that the overall objective is defective,” he added.
Also speaking, the managing director of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku said the agency had begun rehabilitation work on airport terminals across the country.
“We are replacing our security equipment. We have now introduced a number of explosive detection devices, which would, of course, help make our environment is safe and secure as we move people out. That is the project that is happening across the nation. We have started to do a lot of the terminal rehabilitation work; some are now coming on and on stream.
“In the coming months…something exciting is coming on stream at both Lagos Abuja airports. Renovation work on facilities, especially those for passengers with disabilities, and of course, passengers generally, in terms of passenger facilitation and not just the environment, is being carried out.
“We are also embarking on the Kano and Port Harcourt recertification. We recertified two airports last year. We also mentioned a couple of runway renovation projects or rehabilitation projects. Those are also coming on stream,” Kuku said.
