The manager of Gateway International Agro-cargo Airport in Ogun State, Captain Dapo Olumide, has disclosed that the Ogun State Airport is taking time to commence operation because it is working hard to ensure that it is the first in Nigeria to operate with an operating permit and not the common aerodrome certificate popular across the country.
According to Olumide, the operating permit would see the airport attaining the Encas 2023 permit, which is more stringent than the Aerodrome Certification.
Olumide stated this on Monday during the visit of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents in Nigeria to the facility.
The manager said, “There are some people who have said why is our airport taking so long? That an airport can be built in six months, what they don’t understand is that since the good old days of FCAA, we have what they call an Aerodrome Certificate.
“With ENCAS 2023, it has changed now to an operating permit, and there is a difference between an operating permit and an aerodrome certificate. Even with the old Aerodrome Certificate, how many airports in Nigeria comply?
“We are the first airport in Nigeria trying to attain the status of a full operating permit; it is for that reason alone that this project is taking longer than it would have been; maybe all will be set by now, should we opt for an Aerodrome Certificate.
“What you see as open space is part of a master plan because this is also an Aerotropolis. There are going to be hotels, amusement parks, and cinemas in the future; that is all part of the master plan. You can’t put everything together in one day,” he said.
He added that the Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport is a perfect alternative dome for flight diversion in case of bad weather conditions, saying passengers would have an easy and faster ride to Lagos from there.
“The critics also say Ogun State Airport is so close to Lagos that that argument is not logical for the fact that we have the longest runway here, so it suits international flights coming in with wide bodies. You can land a triple 7 here or an A350, offload your passengers, and guess how long it will take you to Lagos by road because we will arrange buses.
“When you’re diverting, the airlines communicate with us here, and they make alternative arrangements. All those BRT buses you have in Lagos, all those types of buses will be arranged. Within an hour of getting off the aeroplane here, you are already in Lagos,” he said.
Also speaking, Ogun State’s Commissioner for Transportation, Engr Gbenga Dario, noted that the airport is situated within the special agricultural processing zone and is one of the eight zones across the country. He described it as a legacy project for the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration.
Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr Ade Akinsanya, in his remarks, said the airport is about 95-98 per cent completed, adding that the its two fire tenders are on class 6, moving to class 7 with an additional fire tender.
“Overall, where we are today, I am pretty certain that we are ready to go commercial. Once we get the approval from the NCAA for commercial operations, we will commence. Right away, we have the approval for chartered flights already.
“The runway has been done for a long time; the fire station is done. You see the two fire tenders outside. Somehow, I don’t know how the captain did it; we got another fire tender, making it three. Right now, we are class six; with that additional fire tender, we are moving to class 7,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, members of LAAC have scored the Gateway International Agro Cargo Airport an A plus in terms of its designs and installations, affirming the airport as having the best facilities in the country at the moment.
Chairman of the league and editor of the Aviation and Transport section of the Blueprint Newspaper, Suleiman Idris, who spoke after the on-the-spot assessment of the level of work on the airport project, commended the visionary leadership of the governor, even as he affirmed that the airport project is a futuristic initiative not only for the state but for the South-West region of the country.