THE Anambra State branch of the Association of Professional Bodies in Nigeria (APBN), said yesterday that it was unhappy with the slow pace of work at the site of the International Cargo Airport project in Umuleri in Anambra East local government area being executed by the state government.
Willie Obiano Chairman of the body, Dr. Akaolisa Ezeagu, who spoke in Awka, regretted that the speed at which the project started had dropped significantly, urging the government not to play politics with the project.
According to him, Anambra professionals would not want to believe that the project was used to score political points, in view of its enormous economic significances to the state, adding that the concept of the cargo airport and the way the state government went about it initially indicated professionalism. He said: “If the state would have the airport, being one of the states with the highest commercial activities, it will definitely boost trade in the state.
“The concept of the project is where aircrafts are going to be re-fuelled, among other facilities and it would be the first of its kind in the sub-saharan Africa.
There will be enough dividends derivable from the project and so it is not something government should play politics with at all.
“As professionals, we know the cost implications of the project. It is a capital intensive project which will be impossible for the state to carry out single-handedly.
“That is why it should review the Public Private Partnership policy because if it is a monolithic PPP policy, the financial capability of the company may dwindle at any point in time.
The project needs to be segmented with aggregated
PPP in order to actualize the dream at a record time. Describing the airport as a key developmental project, which would sustain the state’s economy for a long time, the chairman urged the government to see to its actualization before the expiration of the Obiano administration.
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