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Tag: Ogun Agro-Cargo Airport

  • NAMA begins validation of Ogun Agro-Cargo Airport

    NAMA begins validation of Ogun Agro-Cargo Airport

    Officials of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) were yesterday on facility tour Gateway International Airport, Ogun State.

    Their mission was to carry out flight checks as part of preparation for the commencement of commercial flights.

    Speaking after the inspection, the Manager in charge of Flight Calibration Services at NAMA, Miri Selzing, said the aim of the check was to ensure that the facility aligned with the proposed procedures defined for the airport.

     Selzing said: “Our purpose for coming here is to check the proposed procedures that have been defined for the airport. This is a significant process and not something that can be concluded in a short time.

    “Our visit is the beginning of the validation of the procedure. We have reviewed the procedures that have been drawn up, checked them in the air, and we will analyze them when we get back to our base. From there, we will be able to come up with recommendations and modifications where necessary.

    “But physically, the airport looks very good. The runway, about four kilometers long—the longest in the country—is very impressive. The airport has a good terminal building; everything is fine, so it is a great job being done here.”

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    The manager commended the state government for establishing such an impressive airport in a very short time, calling for the installation of an Instrument Landing System and other navigational instruments to aid flight movements at the airport.

    He said the validation of the procedure is to facilitate the arrival of aircraft at the airport, expressing hope that with the level of work done, it would become a destination for airplanes soon.

    “The runway is long and large enough to accommodate any type of aircraft. The airport would handle diversions from Lagos, Ibadan, and Ilorin.

    “We commend the Ogun State government for such a laudable project, and we are prepared to assist as more facilities are installed at the airport,” the NAMA official concluded.

    Ogun State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ade Akinsanya, said the NAMA team has carried out the “23 and the 05” checks and identified the “waypoint.”

    He added that once the flight check has been completed, it would be developed and made available on the Internet for easy access to the airport.

    “This is one of the last elements we need to address to obtain commercial approval,” the commissioner noted.

    Regarding the level of work done at the airport, Akinsanya said that while work on any airport around the world is an ongoing process, Gateway International Airport is 97 per cent complete, as the control tower, ATC officers, fire fighters and other necessary facilities have been put in place.

  • ‘Ogun Agro-Cargo Airport to begin flights soon’

    ‘Ogun Agro-Cargo Airport to begin flights soon’

    Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun has revealed that the state’s Agro-Cargo International Airport will begin scheduled and non-scheduled flights in the next few weeks.

    He made this known yesterday while speaking at the 13th Gateway International Trade Fair breakfast meeting with chief executive officers, captains of industry, entrepreneurs, investors and stakeholders, held at the Mitros Residences, GRA, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    The governor said the approval process to get the airport running had reached an advanced stage, with the approval expected in a few days.

    He said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved the Special Agro Processing Zone as a Free Trade Zone.

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    He said: “Our newly built Gateway International Airport will soon be inaugurated. I believe as a matter of fact, this week that airport will get an approval to begin to operate non-scheduled flights, meaning that private planes can now fly flights and come to that airport, just like they go to any other airport.”

    “I believe within the next two weeks or less, we will also get the approval for scheduled flights to begin to operate out of that airport.”

    Oyebanji empathises with rainstorm victims

    Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji has empathised with victims of a rainstorm that destroyed properties in Omu-Ekiti and Ijelu-Ekiti, two neighbouring communities in Oye Local Government.

    Oyebanji, represented by his deputy, Mrs Monisade Afuye, while inspecting the level of damage done to properties in the two neighbouring communities yesterday, said the state government would take steps to alleviate their sufferings.

    He expressed sadness over how hundreds of residents were rendered homeless by the devastating effect of the rainstorm that wreaked havoc on the towns on Sunday.