The new terminal building at the Victor Attah International Airport, Akwa Ibom State, is to be completed in 2022.
The all-automated terminal building which is estimated to process one million passengers a year, with a sitting capacity of 1,000 persons is designed after Istanbul’s latest airport terminal in Turkey.
Commissioner for special duties, Mr. Okpolupum Etteh, who made this known during a tour of the construction site yesterday in Uyo, said that the government was comfortable with the speed of work on the project.
Etteh revealed that the terminal building is both for domestic and international flights, adding that provision has been made for further expansion.
He explained that the terminal was designed to process a minimum of one million passengers a year and has a sitting capacity of 1,000.
“The building is divided into two, one way is domestic, the other way is international. We have offices for immigration, customs, space for duty-free shops, and, everything you have in an international airport,” he explained.
“If not for COVID-19, we were looking at completing this project in December this year, but now we are looking at the middle of next year.
“But so far, we are very okay, but you know even when you finish, you still need one or two extra months to test-run all the electrical facilities before handing the facility over.
But there are some facilities we have here that are not in Istanbul. Virtually everything here is going to be automated; the lifts, escalators and that is what makes this building a smart building.
The commissioner explained that the government is hoping the airport would translate to a hub for aviation operations in the region, with the completion of the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) section amongst other ongoing projects.
He said the airport would soon start receiving international flights from within the subregion, once the aircraft purchased for that purpose arrive in the state.
Ada Peter
