ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, YENAGOA
At last, the much-awaited Bayelsa State international cargo airport, is ready, with just the final certification by aviation regulators coming on March 30, 2021.
The airport appeared to have been in limbo occasioned by a few reservations by the industry regulators.
But all that appears to have become a thing of the past as Governor Douye Diri has confirmed the readiness of the airport to begin operations.
The governor, who made an unscheduled visit to the facility ahead of the final certification visitation by the country’s aviation regulatory authorities come March 30, said the airport is set and ready to commence flight operations.
The assurance is contained in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, wherein the Governor was quoted as saying that the state government had provided the required facilities for the smooth take-off of operations at the airport.
Diri said: “I have spent over one year on this project after taking over from my predecessor in office, Senator Seriake Dickson, who initiated it. What we are doing now is dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s. So far, I think every requirement is on ground.
“I believe when the inspection teams from the aviation authorities come, they would be satisfied with what we have done and grant us the licence for commercial use of the airport.”
The governor expressed the hope that after the inspection and final submission of the reports, commercial activities would commence at the airport.
He was accompanied on the visit by the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Moses Teibowei, his Information, Orientation and Strategy counterpart, Ayibaina Duba, Managing Director of the Bayelsa Airport, Captain Bunmi Williams and other top government functionaries.
Last week in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Diri asserted that Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom had reached a tentative agreement for Ibom Air owned by the Akwa Ibom State government to ply the Bayelsa airport route when it commences commercial operations.
Earlier, Diri also inspected the ongoing construction of the 4.5km Igbedi-Opokuma road project, where he expressed satisfaction with the work of the contractors, Paache Construction Limited.
“The contractors are doing their best. I expect that they would keep to the completion timeline. I urge them to sustain the momentum that we have seen,” he said