Anastasia Okechukwu Reporting
The Ebonyi State International Cargo Airport will commence its maiden test flight operations in the next few days.
The Special Assistant to Governor Umahi on infrastructure development, Engr. Frank Ngwu disclose this in a statement on Friday.
According to Ngwu, Everything has been put in place including the Emergency Operation Center(EOC), the police post, immigration office and other things needed within and outside the airport, so the airport is ready for test flight.
He also said that the terminal building is the single largest terminal building in Nigeria, likewise the aprons with 133 thousand square meters.
Ngwu said, “We are ready for the test flight, as you can see, we are here at the runway, and you can see the level of the marking of the runway. We can say that 95 percent of the runway has been marked and it will be concluded in the next 3 days”.
“The level of infrastructure that has been put in this place, you will be amazed at the level of modern equipment here, they are all made in Europe and the best and latest equipment in the aviation industry.
“You can see also that the terminal building that we have here is the single largest terminal building in Nigeria, our apron is also the single biggest apron in Nigeria, 133 thousand square meters.
“The International wing is 60, 000 square meters, the domestic wing apron is 60,000 square meters”.
Speaking further, Ngwu commended Governor David Umahi for the vision of the project which he noted has been constructed to be the best, and biggest in Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.
He stated that Governor David Umahi has a big heart and his quest for speedy development of the State is unprecedented.
He further noted that Ebonyi International Cargo Airport runway is the only rigid concrete runway in Nigeria, with 65 cm thickness.
According to him, What it means is that even the biggest cargo aircraft can land on the airport, he added that there is this biggest cargo aircraft that has only landed in Nigeria once and it was banned from landing in Nigeria because it destroys the runways in the country which are on flexible pavement but the with size and strength of the runway such aircraft can be receive in the airport.
“With such big aircraft landing at the Ebonyi Airport. “it will make the price of goods to be cheaper because what five or six aircrafts can carry it carries it at once utilizing the same amount of aviation fuel.
“We have a lot to show to the world when we start”, he said.