The supervising Minister of Aviation, Dr. Samuel Ortom, yesterday ordered the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to terminate the contracts of some contractors handling the projects at various airports in the country whose work did not meet agreed specifications.
Ortom gave the directive when he inspected the ongoing projects at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, saying the government would not accept any job that did not meet international standards.
The minister also said the massive rehabilitation projects embarked upon by the federal government at the 22 airports in the country, including the five new terminals at the five major airports in the country, justified the N174 billion already incurred in the projects.
Among the facilities inspected were the new international terminal being constructed with the Chinese EXIM Bank's facility, the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON), the fire service department, the N7.1 billion power plant, the general aviation terminal, the new wings in the international terminal and other facilities.
The minister said he was satisfied with the level of work done at the moment and promised that all the projects would be completed to specification.
"I'm impressed with the level of work done thus far at the new international terminal in Lagos. As you are aware, we are constructing same terminal in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu. They are being financed with the $500 million Chinese EXIM Bank loan and the $100 million federal government counterpart funding.
“Work is going on progressively and I'm happy with the quality of work being done and we are confident the project will be delivered in two years as agreed in the contract terms. In fact the contractors said they might even be completed before two years," the minister said.
Ortom however, acknowledged the funding difficulty but assured Nigerians that the ministry of aviation would create additional funding streams, particularly stepping up the internally generated revenue profile of the agencies so the projects can be funded without relying on federal government's allocations alone.
"I want to assure Nigerians that the projects will be completed. The projects are part of the aviation master plan dully approved by the federal executive council. Every single project that was started in the remodelling plan in the phase one, two and three will be completed. It is a matter of stepping up our revenue generation. We have massive opportunities if we are able to close the gaps, we will generate enough internal revenue to fund our projects in addition with what the federal government gives us. I want to allay the fears of Nigerians that the projects will be completed,” he said.
On the debts, he said: "The debts and commitment are there but you can see the massive work going on in the aviation industry today. That justifies the N174 billion debts. Rome wasn't built in a day and there is no way we can generate this money within a week. However, we intend not to embark on new projects so we can concentrate our energies and ensure we complete the projects started by my predecessor," he indicated.
According him, the only areas that might need new contracts would have to be on safety and security if the need arises.
Reacting to the concerns on human capital development among the agencies, he said: "We have taken steps to address the matter of human capital development and we consider this very critical. We have new technologies and best practices coming up frequently and we need to match recent developments by building capacity for our staff.
“We need to upgrade our staff skill to meet new developments. Training is our priority and we will train our staff to meet professional expectations. We take safety and security seriously and we need well-trained staff to achieve safety and security. As an interim measure, I have directed the managing director of FAAN to engage the retired fire service staff on temporal basis to address the shortage of staff in the fire service department,” Ortom explained.
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