Alex Otti, Abia state governor has assured that his government will take the lead in ensuring that the ambition for an Abia Airport comes to fruition as soon as possible.
Otti stated this when receiving in the audience a delegation from the Federal Ministry of Aviation led by the Permanent Secretary, Emmanuel Meribeole.
Governor Otti, who expressed a desire to see an Abia Airport standing in the next one-year, noted that aside from locating land for the project, owners of the land have also been reached for timely take-off of the project.
Otti said: “One important thing about the airport is also location and so we now zeroed in on the place we are looking at the moment. We didn’t just identify the location, we went the extra mile of identifying the owners of the large land because it’s a huge parcel of land. We have already started a meeting with them.
“For us, we are in a hurry. I believe that all that is required to give you access, you will receive in record time. This is to assure you that we are more than ready and that everything you require you will receive.
“We hope that at least in the next one year, an airport will be standing. We don’t intend to complete everything in one year, but at least once we have the runway and the terminal building, the rest would come from time to time.”
The Governor also appreciated President Bola Tinubu for consenting to set up an Airstrip for the state and for accommodating the same in the 2024 budget.
He also appreciated the minister of aviation, Festus Keyamo, and his team for being on the same page with him in envisioning an Airport for Abia as soon as possible.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Aviation, Emmanuel Meribeole while acknowledging the visionary leadership of Governor Alex Otti towards a better Abia, said that they are in the state to ensure that the land approved for the project is in alignment.
He said that part of the delegation are experts from FAAN, AEROSPACE, NEMA, and NEIMET among others, noting that they are starting with Airstrip as already approved by the federal government.
Meribeole while acknowledging that an Airport project is capital intensive said that the advantage of having an Airport cannot be over-emphasized as it will lead to job creation, promotion of commerce, revenue generation, and even development of the state.