As part of plans to ensure that the Akure Airport attain its status as an international cargo Airport and to successfully drive the state’s economy, the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, was on Tuesday conducted round the various ongoing projects within the airport.
The various ongoing projects include a new Control Tower with Instrument Landing System (ILS), which is meant to enhance landing of aircraft irrespective of the weather conditions.
According to the Airport Airspace Manager, Engineer Adebayo Ogunleye, who conducted the Governor round the facility, the airport is being kitted with a Doppler Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Radio Range, DVOR, which is a navigation aid essential to the gathering of required information for identifying, to and fro movements and bearing.
Engineer Ogunleye added that by the time the projects, which are at varying degrees of completion, are commissioned for use, the envisioned capacity of the airport of being an international cargo airport would be realised with ease.
Also speaking, the Airport Manager, Mrs Joke Olatunji appreciated the governor for attracting large patronage to the Akure Airport which have scaled up its volume of activities
While appreciating the proposed digging of trenches round the airport, she called for adequate lighting and security cover for all installations at the airport.
In his response, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu expressed happiness that the decision of his administration to draw attentions to the Akure Airport by building routes and making them profitable for airline operators have turned out to be a wise decision.
He recalled that at the inception of his administration, the Akure Airport was virtually in the dark with little or no activity to justify its existence.
Arakunrin Akeredolu said through concerted efforts, Airpeace was encouraged to come up with the Lagos -Akure route, while Overland reactivated its Abuja-Akure route.
“Though we were subsidising the Lagos-Akure route for Airpeace; today we longer do that because the route is now commercially viable. In fact Airpeace is also now on Akure-Abuja route. All these are to the advantage of our people, visitors and investors to the state”, the governor said.
Governor Akeredolu assured that the degree of collaboration of his administration with all authorities and stakeholders in the aviation industry in Nigeria will not diminish in view of the desire to ensure that the Akure Airport achieves its true status of an International Cargo Airport.
On securing the airport, the governor promised to enlist the interest of the Police, while the already stoned-based roads to the glide scope of the DVRO would be alsphated by the State Ministry of Works.
While appreciating the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority, NAMA and particularly its Managing Director, Captain Fola Akinkuotu, for reshaping the fortune of the Akure Airport, Governor Akeredolu said he would endeavour to follow up on the completion of the Airport Terminal Building.
Packaged by Mayowa Owogbade
