The president made the remark in his address at the commissioning of the newly-built terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Thursday.
The unveiling of the terminal, constructed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and funded by Chinese Exim Bank with counterpart funding from the federal government is coming barely two months after a similar one was commissioned at the Port Harcourt RT International Airport (PHIA), Omagwa, Rivers State in October.
The NAIA terminal, which is expected to process over 15 million passengers annually, will also offer free Wi-fi and trolley services to passengers in line with international standards.
Buhari described the commissioning as another “significant milestone” for international air travellers in and out of the FCT.
He assured Nigerians that the federal government was committed to developing infrastructural in the aviation industry.
“I wish to assure you therefore, that Government remains committed to developing Nigeria into Regional air transportation hub and thereby assuming its leadership in the aviation sub sector in Africa,” said the president.
He commended CCECC for completing the project, adding that the completion would further boost the infrastructure in the aviation industry.
In his remarks, the minister of state for aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika disclosed that the Abuja Airport recorded a total over five million passenger traffic in 2017 adding that with the new terminal, the passenger traffic would increase.
“It feels very great because this is one of those projects that have the capacity of connecting nations, cultures, business and friends. This is what this project is for.
“This airport has the capacity of 15 million passengers’ and this is about perhaps 40 times of what Ghana is doing as a country. So, currently, Abuja is doing 5.5 million passengers per annum. That is multiple times of what Ghana is doing as a nation from Abuja alone.
“We have the intention of making Abuja as a hub; we need to attract more passengers and make it hit the 15 million passenger mark. Between now and 2030, it is hoped that this facility would meet 75 million to 100 million mark.”
“This is very easy because Nigeria is geographically located at the centre of Africa and that of the world. We are taking an advantage of that and we are investing heavily. This is one of the novel things that Mr. President is doing. He told us from the beginning to ensure we finish all abandoned projects, rather than creating new ones, start them and unable to finish them. Mr. President has been walking his talk and this is evident with the commissioning of this project today,” he said.
On the relocation of the control tower and fire service, Sirika said: “As soon as the counterpart funding is paid, the money is accessed from the China Exim Bank, we will relocate the fire service and also build another control tower to serve the entire airport and many other things that are not mentioned here today.
“We will put the facility to use from day one and it will be a restricted use. The other side of the terminal is very adequate for now for whatever we want to use it for. But for the future, if you look at the terminal, it has an open space to accommodate other passengers.”
Some facilities in the new terminal include eight security screening points, eight passenger boarding bridges, remote boarding and arrival, two food courts, four premium lounges, a 22-room hotel with spa, over 3000 square metres of duty free space and over 5,000 square metres of utility space.
For his part, the managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Saleh Dunoma said foreign airlines were ready to move into the facility after the commissioning.
“The new terminal will see double the number of the 7.5 million passengers the old terminal usually handles,” he said.
