The House Committee on Aviation has condemned the slow pace of work at the new terminal being built by the Chinese at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and said that it should have been completed by the end of this year, but the pace of work indicated that the company would not meet its target date.
The project is part of the four terminals being built at the nation’s major airports in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt with the Chinese’s $500 million loan. It was initially targeted the work would be completed by December 2015 but later shifted to the end of this year, which obviously would not be met by the extent of the work done so far.
The House also directed that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should improve facilities at the Lagos airport international terminal before the heavy passenger traffic that would build during the Christmas season.
The House Committee on Aviation during its oversight, on-the-spot inspection of facilities at the international terminal noticed that the chillers were not working effectively there were reports that there is frequent power outage, which the agency said it is tackling seriously, so the House urged FAAN to ensure that these facilities are put in the best standard before December’s passenger surge.
The House Committee on Aviation Chairman, Hon. Nkiruka Onyejeocha told THISDAY in an interview on Tuesday that in carrying out its oversight functions, the House would ensure that the right things were done to improve safety and comfort of air travellers in the country.
“We came hard on FAAN on the issue of the new terminal being built by the Chinese at Lagos airport. This is because from the agreement between Nigeria and China that terminal is supposed to be handed over by December, 2016 and from what we saw, no magic will make them deliver it by the end of the year. So we directed them to make sure they improve the pace of work on the project. This is because we know that the slow pace of work has nothing to do with the federal government budget appropriation,” Onyejeocha said.
She said that the motion raised in the House to carry out the inspection of the Lagos airport was prompted by complaints from Nigerians who reported that facilities at the airport was degenerating and urgent action was needed to halt the decay.
“We inspected the facilities and from what we saw, the way they painted the picture to us before our inspection was a bit exaggerated. Most things are not functioning properly but not as bad as they painted. It is good we went for that oversight. There was allegation that the roof at the terminal was leaking and for the chillers we asked them to ensure they are improved on because of the heavy traffic we will expect during the Yuletide and then the weather would be warmer than it is currently. So we asked them to make sure that the chillers are working,” Hon. Onyejeocha said.
She said the House commended the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) for ensuring safe flight operations in the country and asked the agency to be on its toes to ensure that high safety standard is maintained despite the recession, adding that at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) the House stressed on capacity of the workforce, which is critical for effectively regulatory function of the agency.
So our on the spot assessment in Lagos was very timely because as we are experiencing economic recession, it is pertinent that everyone is kept on his toes to ensure safety is not compromised because these are challenging times. So no matter how much money we are losing; no matter the level of devaluation of our currency, you cannot compromise on safety standards. We implored them to ensure they do not cut corners because of the economic issues we are facing. Recession is not an excuse to cut corners. We should do the things we are supposed to do and that is it,” Hon. Onyejeocha said.
