Security Concerns Stopped Construction Of Makurdi Cargo Terminal – Minister

The supervising Minister of Aviation, Dr Samuel Ortom, on Thursday said that construction of the Makurdi cargo terminal was stopped because of security concerns.
Ortom said in Abuja that consultation was still ongoing to restart the project.
The minister said that work on the cargo terminal was stopped to allow for more input from security experts to tackle the security issues that had arisen
He explained that the airport was a military facility while other cargo terminals undergoing remodelling across the country were civil airports.
According to Ortom, anything concerning security issues cannot be ignored and will be better handled by security experts.
``The airport in Makurdi was a military airport; after we started work on the cargo terminal in Makurdi, our attention was drawn to some security issues and so, we had to stop.
``We all know that security issues are better mapped by security experts and they cannot be ignored; however, we are in consultation with them to see how we can continue.
``We have already invested in the place and we are still discussing with the military authorities there and as soon as we conclude the discussion, work will continue,’’ Ortom said.
He said that work was progressively ongoing at various cargo terminals undergoing remodelling across the country.
Ortom said that phase one of the projects had been completed; most of phase two were ongoing; some of phase three were yet to take off but that some were already ongoing.
``We have some challenge in funding but at the same time we are trying to look for ways to generate revenue internally.
``We are trying to re-privatise some of these jobs and also trying to look for interventions and where we can get private sector participation to support,’’ he added.
The minister said that the remodelling programme of the ministry was an ongoing project and ``we intend to continue from
where we picked up and we are going to complete it''.
``We are determined to secure the industry in a way that Nigerians, including those who are coming into Nigeria for business, will be comfortable and not have issues including that of security.’’
Ortom said that aviation industry remained the safest way of travelling worldwide and promised to improve it to a benefiting standard for the Nigeria.
He said two per cent of work carried was out on the Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano airports while Abuja had nine per cent.
``I think that there is not going to be any challenge, especially when it comes to funding of these four international airports, because money is adequately provided for them.
``The 500 million dollars loan that we obtained from China is intact and the N100 million counterpart funding we have sought through the Federal Ministry of Finance.’’
The minister added that the remodelling had provided a lot of jobs for Nigerian youths, especially those in Abuja.
``We have over 600 Nigerian youths working at the Abuja site alone,’’ Ortom said.