Yobe State governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, has said that the state government was committed to completing the N11.3 billion Cargo Airport by January 2019.
Gaidam said so, while inspecting the project site located at Kallalawa village, 25 kilometres from the state capital, Damaturu, on Thursday.
According to him, the airport is one of his legacy projects that would do much good to the state in terms of economic development.
“For those of you who were around when we promised to construct an airport during our 2011 campaign, the preliminary arrangements commenced immediately after being elected, but due to the insurgency, the implementation became extremely difficult, until this time. Our hope is for the airport to be ready, so that the President would land, when he comes for campaign for 2019 general election,” he said.
The governor, who was accompanied by the Commissioner of Works and Transport, Lawan Shettima Ali, noted that he was satisfied with the pace at which the project was was going.
He urged the contractor to engage more manpower and equipment for the project to be completed without any delay.
In his remark, the supervisory commissioner said the contract was awarded in September 2017, noting that it began with 30 percent mobilisation fee.
Shettima Ali passed a vote of confidence on the contractor, saying that it had achieved 20% construction of the airport access road, 50% of the runway, 16% of the patrol road, 88 percent of graded area and 6% for geographical investigations.
