The Federal Government has disclosed that it would double the number of airports across the country by the end of 2023.
This disclosure was made by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on Tuesday, October 14, 2020, during the public presentation of the 2021 budget proposal in Abuja. He was responding to a question on which airports the government intends to develop in 2021.
While speaking at the event, which was organized by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, he said that a lot of work would be done across airports in the country.
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Nigeria has about 31 airports currently, with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) operating 26 of the facilities, while others are largely run by states.
Sirika said, “Since this administration came in, we drew our roadmap in trying to improve on civil aviation and transportation in general. We understood the importance of air connectivity. So we believe investment in this sector will do very well for our economy. Before the end of 2023, we would have doubled the number of airports in Nigeria.”
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He also said, “We have a saying that one-mile-long road leads to nowhere, but one-mile-long runway leads to everywhere. We understand the importance of aviation infrastructure as a critical component for the working of our economy and they are also national security assets.”
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The Minister disclosed that the aviation industry was the fastest growing sector in the country and the current administration had developed a roadmap to improve civil aviation and air transportation in general.
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He said airports were being built in various locations in Nigeria and that more were in the works.
“So, all over the place, airports are being built in Nigeria, which is a sign of growth for us,’’ he said.