Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, yesterday said government is working on constructing a second runway for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The minister gave the assurance during a visit to Media Trust Limited.
Passengers have called on aviation authorities to expedite action on the construction of a second runway following the blockade of the only runway in the airport by a Saudi cargo air plane on December 4, forcing flight cancellations.
“It is not proper for us to have one runway for airport such as busy as Abuja,” Oduah said.
“We are waiting for the resources to be able to do the second runway. The second runway was started and had an issue along with it. So, instead of putting it at the back burner, we are bringing it up again because it is very crucial.”
She added: “If anything happens, the nearest airport will be Minna but Minna has its limitation. There are some sizes of aircraft that Minna cannot take…Government will do the second runway as soon as possible but it is expensive.”
She dismissed criticism that it took 17 hours to reopen Abuja airport after a Saudi Arabian cargo plane run into repair equipment, saying her officials worked round the clock to remove the huge plane and that they deserve commendation for the work they did.
The Abuja airport is the nation’s second busiest, with an average monthly passenger movement of over 10,000, according to the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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