By Samuel Oyadongha & Emem Idio

YENAGOA—BAYELSA State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructures, Mr. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has enumerated some of the comparative advantages of the state Cargo International Airport to include ease in exportation of goods and services and creation of massive job opportunities for the teeming unemployed population of the state.

The commissioner, who described the airport as a necessity, said that as a state that sits at the centre of the Gulf of Guinea, the airport will be strategic for the coordination of the defence of the region, and also attract foreign investors and tourists to the state.

Ewhrudjakpo stated this, yesterday, during an inspection visit to the project site in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

He said though  technically, the project would be ready by the end of next month, the commissioning date would be subject to the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is expected to inaugurate the project.

He said: “Technically, we would be ready by the end of August but we have not categorically fixed a date for the commissioning because that is subject to Mr. President and the governor to agree on a particular date that will be auspicious for them.

“We don’t want to be saying that there is a fixed date for now. Mr. President has not approved any particular date but our target is to work towards completing everything by the end of August and we are already on that part.

“The terminal building has been completed except for few changes to meet international standards. The control tower is ready as well as the fire bay.

“Our 3.5km runway, according to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, is second to none in the country and it is almost ready while the marking on the runway has started, meaning we are ready to receive flight into the airport. The car park too is almost ready. However, we don’t have other ancillaries such as  clinic, police station and the rustication centre but we are making provisions to use portakabins to serve that purpose and we are working on them.

In any case, Bayelsa sits at the epic centre of the Gulf of Guinea, so the airport here is not going to serve only Bayelsa State but also the Gulf of Guinea. Not only that, military facilities and hardware can also be kept here because for every airport, there is a place for military hardware, so it is easier for the defence of Nigeria to be conducted from here.”