Fifteen years after the Federal Government proposed the construction of a second runway for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the project is still submerged in crisis....Read Full Article >>➤
The construction has been stalled following a significant cost escalation, increasing the initial budget of N90 billion to an alarming N532 billion.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had revealed while defending the ministry’s 2025 budget before the Joint National Assembly Aviation Committees that the contractor had proposed N532 billion adjustment to the contract for the airport’s runway.
The new variation of N532 billion from N90 billion, indicates 591.11% increase.
The runway project, initially proposed to address growing air traffic congestion, has been mired in delays and controversies since its conception.
Originally approved with a N64 billion budget in 2009, it was canceled in 2010 amid corruption allegations.
Despite subsequent budgetary allocations—including N10 billion in 2017, N8 billion in 2018, N13 billion in 2019, and N14 billion in 2021, the project has struggled to gain traction.
“We urge the Federal Government to follow the international pricing standards for such projects allowing for variation in line with the peculiarities of our environment.”
Under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the contract was awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Nigeria Limited at a revised cost of N67 billion.
However, the project has faced further setbacks, with Minister Keyamo disclosing that the contractor abandoned the site after receiving N30 billion of the N90 billion allocated.
CCECC cited an “unacceptable contract variation” as the reason for its withdrawal, requesting a cost adjustment that the minister has deemed excessive.
“From N90 billion to N532 billion within two years to build the second runway—I will not accept it,” Keyamo stated.
The Abuja second runway project has been a contentious issue for years, with its origins dating back to 2009 under President Musa Yar’Adua’s administration.
Initially, Julius Berger had proposed a cost of N64 billion after scaling it down from some higher figures, while Public Works suggested it could be done for N32 billion, with the prevailing pricing in 2010.
The House of Representatives revoked the project in 2010 and ordered the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Bureau for Public Procurement to conduct fresh bidding, but 15 years after, the project is yet to be completed.
The cost of the project has been a major point of contention, with varying estimates from different contractors.
The second runway was conceived and designed in 2009 to handle Airbus A380-800F with Category Three Airfield Lighting.
The body length of that aircraft is 73 meters, with a body height of 24 meters.
The wingspan is 79.8 meters and the maximum take-off weight is about 569,000kg, about 600 tons, which is equivalent to packing 30 trailers with a full load of cement.
The runway length was estimated at 4.5 kilometers, with a width span of 75 meters.
We urge the National Assembly to investigate the financial history of this contentious project.
The National Assembly should review all previous submissions on the second runway. A cost increase of over 500% must be thoroughly examined as these figures are too high.
The price variation of over 500% by the contractor against an average annual inflation of about 35% is unjustified.
While we agree that there is inflation and the rate of exchange of dollars has changed, we also believe that the N532 billion is excessive and should not be entertained.
Be that as it may, it must be put on record that the Abuja airport requires a second runway, as the current single-runway operation is inefficient and poses risks to the country’s economy and security.
Statistics released in the last few years revealed that the Abuja airport is the second busiest airport in Nigeria, after the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
The decisions to provide additional runways on airports are usually derived from the aircraft traffic in and out of such facilities, political and security considerations.
So far, the existing runway has been stretched to the maximum capacity, statistically and economically.
For instance, if there is a situation where something happens on the existing Abuja runway, that prevents aircraft takeoff/ landing for 24 hours plus.
What if there is an emergency need to evacuate our president? Our president would be stuck because his aircraft would have been parked in the presidential apron.
A second runway in this case is necessary for security and political emergencies. All decisions are not boxed into statistics and monetary gains.
However, Minister Keyamo has not explained to the public the benchmark that guided his decision to threaten to cancel the contract, but as a public servant he was representing the interest of the public.
We advise the minister to search for more competitive bids that would still be within the nation’s budget with the retention of the same high standards.
If the project is not completed now, it may eventually not be completed again because the cost of the project may continue to increase with further delays.
We urge the Federal Government to follow the international pricing standards for such projects allowing for variation in line with the peculiarities of our environment.
The Federal Government must find a way to balance the need for infrastructure development with the risk of corruption and cost inflation. ...Read Full Article >>➤
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