New dawn in South East as Akanu Ibiam Int’l airport opens on Sunday

By Sam Nzeh & Moses Oyediran

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When the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Enugu State reopens for domestic and international flights on Sunday, August 30, 2020, it will be a new dawn for the people of the South East geopolitical zone who are one of the most travelled peoples of the world.

The airport was shut down on August 24, 2019 by the Federal Government for massive reconstruction of the runway, and terminal building among others.

The reopening of the airport will not only reduce the pains inflicted on people of the zone who had been forced to travel by road since its closure but will in no small measure enhance socio-economic activities in the area, Daily Times gathered.

It was because of its importance as the only airport with an international status in the South East that the closure drew criticism from the people.

The people could not come to terms with the reasons offered for the shutdown of the airport.

The Federal Government had explained then that the airport was being shut down to resolve the existing safety and security concerns to flight operations, tackle threats posed to flights and passengers, rehabilitate the airport bad runway, resolve the issue of nearby market which attracts birds which collides with airplanes, as well as settle the issue of the state radio mast which was facing the runway.

Responding to the closure, the South East governors led by Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State made several efforts to ensure that the airport was upgraded including visiting President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja in September 2019, where they emphasised the importance of the upgrading so as to accommodate bigger aircraft at the airport.

The governors, who understood the entrepreneurial nature of their people, also sought the expansion of the runway to be included in the rehabilitation work from the president.

Immediately after the closure, Aviation minister Had Sirikamoved quickly to ensure that contractors were mobilsed to the airport for massive rehabilitation of the runway, terminal building among others.

To the credit of Senator Sirika, the needed fund for the rehabilitation work was not only released but he ensured close monitoring of progress of the project.

The minister had assured the people of the zone that if all went as planned, the airport would be reopened before Christmas of last year. The date was later changed to April 2020.

However, the outbreak of Coronavirus stalled work on the project. Determined to see to the completion of the project, the Aviation minister visited the airport severally to inspect progress of work as well as interface with stakeholders including South East governors who offered unflinching support to the Aviation ministry.

The governors, in view of the importance of the airport to the region, even set up a committee to liaise with the Aviation ministry and provided support whenever needed.

The Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi-led Enugu State government, being the host state of the project, left no stone unturned to ensure the timely completion of the rehabilitation work.

Today, the Aviation minister’s visits to the airport and the partnership with South East governors have paid off with work completed on all aspects and all encumbrances to the project removed.

For instance, the critical parts of the project, the rehabilitation of the runway, the installation of a new Category II (CAT II) Instrument Landing System/ Distance Measuring Equipment (ILS/DME) and upgrade of other facilities have been completed.

With the completion of the rehabilitation work at the airport, stakeholders say the economy of the South East region will witness a boost as passenger traffic in and out of the airport resume on Sunday, August 30.

On what Enugu State and the South East zone stand to benefit from the resumption of domestic and international flights at the airport, a resident of the state and founding chairman of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie, said the people of the zone are looking forward with excitement to the reust opening of the airport, adding that this will result to increased investment in the region.

He expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for taking up the challenge through the Minister of Aviation who got very experienced contractors to carry out the rehabilitation work at the airport.

“Now that the airport has gotten facilities because all the while even as it was answering Akanu Ibiam International Airport it was international only by nickname given to it, but now it is going to be an international airport in deed.

“Flights can now land in the night and take off in the night. So, more international flights will begin to come in even cargo planes that normally come in by night now have good reasons and safety standards to use Enugu airport.

There is no doubt that the economy of the southeast will receive a boost by the reopening of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport,” Okorie stated.

Speaking on the role played by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State in ensuring timely completion of the projects at the airport and what the airport will bring to Enugu State and South East economy, a media aide to the governor, Barrister Steve Oruruo said: “The entire people of Enugu State and the South East geo-political zone have been impatiently waiting the reopening of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport which had been shut down for major repairs and upgrade project.

“Among the myriad of reasons why the reopening of the airport is conceived by the people of this region to be an exigent need, is the strategic place of the aviation infrastructure in the dynamics of its economic matrix.

It is unarguable that the upgraded Akanu Ibiam International Airport will stimulate further dramatic permutations that will culminate in enormous economic fortunes, than it had already done, in the state and the region.

“The undercurrents of Governor Ugwuanyi’s agitations for the upgrade of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport are the realisation of the centrality of the aviation sector to the economy of Enugu and the South East region.

The airport was conceived to be a critical player in the economic revolution Ugwuanyi is staging in the state, which has a massive inclination towards digitization and eco-friendliness.

“Enugu’s governor has been unrelenting in rallying relevant stakeholders including the Federal Government, National Assembly, South East Governors’ Forum, technocrats and private sector capitalists towards realisation of the project.

When the airport reopens, it would be the reward of unflinching commitment, unyielding persuasion, and unwavering hard work on the part of the Federal Government, Governor Ugwuanyi and other influential stakeholders of the southeast region.

“In assessing the economic impact the upgraded Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu will have on the state, various indicators must be considered including employment, household income, added value and business revenue.

Already the repairs and upgrade which lasted months, involving design of facilities, installation of systems, construction and rehabilitation, created a plethora of direct and indirect jobs and dual revenue streams for the people in the form of direct income and the government in the form of tax revenue.

These effects will be more pronounced when the airport finally resumes local and international flight operations.

Oruruo further said: “The most immediate impact the reopened Akanu Ibiam International Airport will have on the economies of Enugu and the southeast region will manifest in direct employment opportunities.

At the behest of yawning necessities, skilled and unskilled personnel will be recruited from the vast and diverse labour pool of the southeast region to provide such services as airline and airport operations, on-site retail and catering.

Income to the affected households will increase and with it, purchasing power in the state and regional markets. The multiplier effects of employment on any economy are often too expensive to be comprehensively predicted.

The tax revenues which will flow into the government coffers from the airport will be channeled into Ugwuanyi’s aggressive infrastructural development efforts featuring a synergy between grassroots rebirth and urban renewal.

“Trade and investment in Enugu State and in the southeast region will be dealt a heavy boost by the soon-to-be reopened Enugu Airport.

The business climate in Enugu is already receptive and fertile for investments manifest in the state’s 2018 World Bank ranking as 2nd out of 36 states and FCT Abuja on the ease of starting business and 3rd on the ease of doing business.

Daily operations at the airport will necessitate increased demand for aviation fuel suppliers, construction companies, manufacturers of goods sold in retail outlets, IT firms, amongst others.

“As such new small, medium and large scale enterprises will emerge across the acres of the southeast region, impressing directly on state and regional economies.

These businesses will be supported by a buoyant market base projected to emerge as a result of influx of people into the state and by extension, the southeast region. More indirect jobs will be created.

With the predicted increase in the regional population, stemming in part from local and international flight operations at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, accommodation shortfalls will become a predicament.

Capitalists and investors will pounce on the opportunity to invest in Enugu’s hospitality sector and the ever-expanding real estate business.

The regulatory and infrastructural frameworks put in place by the Ugwuanyi regime will prove a reliable lever for guaranteeing return on investment.

“In the bigger picture, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport will link the southeast to the global market, resulting in foreign exchange earnings and jolt tremendous “ Reopening of the airport would facilitate tourism and trade, which would in turn provide employment opportunities, increase revenue to the state, hotels and other businesses in the value chain, as well as reduce poverty.

growth within the tourism sector. The Unity Park being constructed at Independence Layout Enugu headlines the groundwork which the Ugwuanyi regime has so systematically laid in Enugu State’s tourism sector.

The foundation thus flamboyantly exists to support the intense demand to be crystallized by the upgraded Akanu Ibiam International Airport. This will have a multiplier effect on the state and regional economies.

“There is every indication, empirical and otherwise, that the reopening of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport will breathe fresh air into the economies of Enugu State and the South East region.

It will mark a major historical inflexion point which will be credited for improved economic indices in both the immediate and remote futures.

The onus lies on the people of Enugu State and the southeast to take maximum advantage of this opportunity through enterprising commitment, limitless hard work and unbridled cooperation.

Speaking on the benefits the reopening of the airport will bring to the economy of the South East region, an analyst and a developmental economist, Dr. Chiwuike Uba, said: “The reopening of the airport, therefore, will play a vital role in facilitating economic growth through tourism and other businesses.

In addition to providing significant social benefits through the broadening of people’s leisure and cultural experiences, economic activities that directly serve air passengers, on-site retail, catering facilities/services, and business services would kick start on the resumption of flight operations in the airport.

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“Reopening of the airport would facilitate tourism and trade, which would in turn provide employment opportunities, increase revenue to the State, hotels, and other businesses in the value chain, as well as reduce poverty.

Improvement in the efficiency of the supply chain, reduction in delivery time and cost, and various State’s economic productivity would be enhanced by the reopening of the airport.

Air transport does not only spur innovation but is an enabler of investment both into and out of countries, regions, and states”.