FG Budgets N10 b For Abuja Airport Second Runway

• FG Budgets N10 b For Abuja Airport Second Runway

In a bid to prevent further costly shutdown of operations, the Federal Government has begun moves to construct a second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja.

The government has set aside N10 billion in the 2017 budget for the project.

The administration apparently learning from the pains the nation’s flyers passed through with the closure of the airport for rehabilitating the airport between March and April this year, has also set aside the sum of N2 billion to acquire vital airport equipment and a calibration aircraft for the industry.

It has also made available another N2 billion for the development of an air strip at Abeokuta in Ogun State.

These are contained in the 2017 budget, which was passed by the National Assembly late last week, and a copy which was sighted last night.

Findings reveals that the ministry of transportation may have provided for more rail projects in the country than are specified in the budget document.

Under its capital project with caption ‘FMOTY 19186160’, the budget specifies the rail projects to be undertaken within the year as: Lagos-Kano, Calabar-Lagos, Kano-Kaduna, Ajaokuta-Itakpe-Warri, Kaduna-Idu and other rail projects.

A source familiar with the projects, hinted that contrary to the claims by a South-East Senator that the South-East Corridor had been excluded from the rail projects, the area has been captured among the rail projects of the ministry.