Government to construct N6bn cargo airport - Commissioner

Yobe Government on Thursday said it would soon award contract for the construction of a N6 billion cargo airport in Damaturu.

The state Commissioner for Works, Transport and Energy, Alhaji Sirajo Wakil, disclosed this in Damaturu in an interview with the News Agency of Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said "the airport will contain all necessary facilities required of a standard cargo airport because there is no standard cargo airport with the required facilities in the north.

"The state government has earmarked N6 billion in this year's budget for the construction of the airport to boost trade, revenue and economy of the state.

"Yobe state has the largest deposit of livestock in the country and the highest grade of Gum Arabic in West Africa.

"The cargo airport will facilitate export of meat, dairy products and Gum Arabic to earn foreign exchange," he added.

The commissioner said regulatory agencies, including Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NAMA, Nigerian Meteorological Agency and Ministry of Aviation had visited the state and "checked all the parameters for the proposed airport".

He described public criticisms of the airport as "skewed, narrow and tied to air passenger transportation and not seeing it as a gateway for investors to the state".

Sirajo said the government had also constituted a committee for the development of border communities in the state.

The commissioner also assured that the government would complete all ongoing road projects, including the Trans-Saharan route and township roads in various parts of the state.