Ganduje calls for urgent upgrade of MMIA’s ageing infrastructure

• FAAN revamps airport facilities nationwide

By Chinelo Obogo

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Abdullahi Ganduje, has said that there is an urgent need for a facility upgrade at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) due to its ageing infrastructure.

Ganduje said this during his inspection of MMIA this week. He was accompanied by FAAN’s Managing Director, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, who took him round the airport to assess its current state, and he acknowledged that many airport facilities and equipment have become obsolete. He assured stakeholders that the board would collaborate with FAAN management to upgrade infrastructure to meet global standards.

“We have seen some facilities and we have also taken note of the challenges, as explained by the MD in the morning session. So my impression is that the agency is blessed with a competent management, because I have the seriousness and also the achievements. Of course, there are some challenges, and we have started discussing how things will be resolved. We are conversant with international airports, especially in the developed countries. So whatever we saw there is a product of facilities improvement and development. They are products of motivation or visionary management of the organisation and that is what we are expecting here. But they have laid a very good foundation, and I’ve been appealing to them so that we can continue and improve what they have done so far,” he said.

Ganduje pointed out that several projects awarded in previous years remain abandoned due to inflation and rising costs. He noted that some of the original airport equipment is now outdated, but FAAN has devised strategies to address these issues.

“Some of the challenges, according to them and according to what we have seen, are that of abandoned projects awarded many years ago. Prices of equipment have now gone up as some equipment originally put in place are now obsolete according to modern technology. But they have designed a way in order to resolve all such issues. Some of these abandoned projects are being sorted out to see how we can scale some and make better use of them,” he said.

FAAN’s Managing Director, Mrs Kuku, highlighted the ongoing rehabilitation of airport facilities across the country, stating that these efforts are yielding positive results.

She said: “We’ve just started the process. I promised you all that we’re replacing our security equipment. We have now introduced a number of explosive detection devices, which would, of course, help make sure that our environment is safe and secure as we move people out. So that’s a project that is happening across the nation. I also mentioned the fact that a lot of the terminal rehabilitation work that we have started to do, some of those are now coming on board and on stream. So look out for more in the next coming months, and then the next quarter, really around large infrastructure development projects that we’re looking at as well, something exciting coming on board with both in Lagos and Abuja airports. I’m sure that you’ve seen a lot of the renovation work that we’re doing for our facilities, especially those for passengers with disabilities, and of course, passengers generally, in terms of passenger facilitation and not just the environment, the cleanliness. I’m just totally revamping the VIP facilities as well that we’re revamping.”