Abuja Airport Repairs to Last Extra Four Months

A night-time rehabilitation is due to commence on the runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, later this week and will last for four months.

The airport, due to reopen this Thursday after six weeks of temporary closure, will see more repairs on some parts of the 3610m long runway and other critical sections of the aerodrome between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. daily.

The Guardian learnt that the four-month nocturnal repairs were part of the initial six-month duration to fully turn the airport around, with almost a new runway and upgraded facilities both on the air-side and land-side of the airport.

The plan will make the second busiest airport in the country to be shut down for five hours everyday, during which flight activities will be restricted. The repairs may also cause airport users some bit of discomfort while they last.
In fact, experts have raised concerns on safety of lives and flights with repair equipment around the runway during flight operations. They urged regulatory authorities to be cautious to avoid a repeat of the November 2003 landing accident at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

It was learnt at the weekend that the round-the-clock six-week repairs only fixed the mid section of the runway, which is the most critical and already a death trap for aircraft prior to the airport closure.

Sources hinted that the exercise, by Julius Berger, could not have delivered a new runway in six weeks, but to repair existing one for use, while skeletal renovation will continue without the disruption of flight activities.

Experts said the nightly repair model is the norm in major airports around the world, including Glasgow airport in Scotland, where piece-by-piece runway resurfacing, using the latest asphalt technology, has been going on since last November till date. The repair is with minimal disruption since the airport reopens at 06:00 everyday. Glasgow airport handles almost 100,000 aircraft movements a year.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which manages the airport and 21 others nationwide confirmed the repair plan. Acting General Manager, Public Relations FAAN, Henrietta Yakubu, said the rehabilitation plan was to fully transform the airport but with minimal disruption of services within a six-month window period.

Yakubu noted that the six-week closure due to elapse Wednesday took care of the most critical part of the runway and other sections will be fixed in batches.

She said: “Further work has been structured in a way that it will not affect operations. The last flight is expected before 12:00a.m. and the first flight by 5:00 a.m. In between are the repairs for other parts (of runway) that are not so critical.

Guardian