Anambra International Airport: Creating first choice investment destination, hub of commercial activities
Investment in air transport infrastructure has consistently proven to be a major source for crucial development drivers bringing both economic and social benefits, including regional integration. It has major rippling effects on job creation as well as trade and tourism.
The availability of efficient airports in States or countries has remained a key to influence an investor’s decision on whether or not to invest in a particular country since air transport enables faster commutes.
More rewarding is constructing airports where there economic activities such as agriculture, trade and investments and tourist attractions that could spur growth and create employment opportunities.
Nigeria which has one of the largest economies in Africa presents such opportunity for investment and Anambra State plays an important role in the country’s economy.
In Anambra State, agriculture plays an important role in the state’s economy; yams, taro, oil palm products, rice, corn (maize), cassava (manioc), and citrus fruits are the principal crops. With a large modern market, located in Onitsha, which is the hub of the state’s commerce and industry speaks to the huge untapped potentials this State creates.
It was therefore a new dawn for the State and most audacious legacy of the Governor Willie Obiano’s administration and revolutionary when the state received the Inaugural flight into Anambra International Passenger and Cargo Airport, Umeri on April 30, 2021.
Economic benefits/job opportunities
No doubt, Anambra airport would generate economic benefits for the state, the South East people and Nigeria.
Experts say the new airport is already creating jobs; since the construction industry creates significant jobs and the airport upon its commissioning now creates additional permanent jobs and indirect jobs within the state.
Seyi Adewale, chief executive officer - Mainstream Cargo Limited told Businessday that the airport will further endear many economic actors to the state thereby increasing the state’s prosperity and accessibility considering the current state of the country’s road network
Adewale explained that the capacity of the state to generate additional Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is improved based on rentals and other taxes that will be generated based on this new revenue line for the state government.
Furthermore, he noted that the enhanced and efficient movement of goods, services and human capital would improve the state’s capacity to attract investment to the State.
“In relations to other states within the country, Anambra is bordered in the north with Kogi State, South with Imo State, West with both Edo and Delta States and finally the East with Enugu State which would potentially increase the integration and connectivity across the country. Nigeria needs to increase to connect states via air services because it’s a very powerful economic driver (togetherness) of one-nigeria,” he explained.
Experts say Onitsha is within Anambra and an economic power centre in respect of commerce and trade. This will further open this area for improved trade and open Anambra to the world.
Goods can now move directly to Anambra, thus lowering the cost of business thereby removing the cost of moving goods and services from Lagos to Ontisha, since the airport is designated as a cargo and passenger airport.
Willie Obiano, the governor of Anambra State assured that the economic values from this airport cannot be quantified, as the construction of this airport has kept 3000 people in direct employment and another 3500 in indirect employment for 15 months.
Obiano stated that when his administration began the effort to expand the frontiers of excellence in Anambra State seven years ago, he announced that his vision was to make Anambra State the first choice investment destination and hub of industrialization and commercial activities.
With a mission to create a socially stable, business friendly environment that will attract indigenes and foreigners to wealth creating opportunities in Anambra State, the governor stressed that this airport is a fulfilment of its vision and mission statements.
“It is difficult to create a new economic corridor without a functional international airport that will serve as a direct bridge between us and the world. With this facility, we have made the journey easier for any investor who wants to prospect Anambra State for business,” he assured.
Speaking on the job opportunities the airport is currently creating and would create in future, Commissioner for Works and head of the project delivery team, Marcel Ifejiofor disclosed that at the construction stage, about 2,500 workers were employed and the suppliers were engaged.
“In a day, our suppliers bring in about 72 trucks, 30 tonnes of chippings. People are supplying these things and the equipment we are using here are many. Diesel, cement and sand are supplied. The food vendors are also benefiting. The employment opportunities are unprecedented,” Ifejiofor said.
He disclosed that when the terminal is completed, it would take over 100 workers, adding that employment opportunities cuts across aviation security, fire control workers and shops amongst others.
Landmark facility
Aviation stakeholders and experts have continued to express pleasure with the new airport edifice which houses million dollar facilities to aid the movement of cargoes and passenger operations.
The landmark facility has the longest runway in the country, spanning 3.7km, with the capacity to receive the biggest airplanes in the world.
Seyi Adewale told Businessday that another major benefit of this airport to the state is unlike the Enugu airport as this airport can conveniently receive wide body aircrafts to the southeast part of Nigeria.
The governor engaged top construction companies across Nigeria and other parts of the world some of which include Craneburg Construction Ltd, IDC Construction Ltd, MACE Aviation Nigeria, Niger CAT, JK PEEZ Impex Company Ltd, Teetag Construction International Limited and China Railway.
These companies are said to have worked for 15 months to deliver the airport.
On the level of work done at the airport, Businessday’s checks show that the airport is 90 percent completed; the runway is 100 percent completed; apron is 100 percent completed, taxiway is 100 percent completed and the terminal is 90 percent completed.
All the equipment is fully paid for including the lights, the aero bridges, the security, the Instrument Landing Systems, (ILS) and the VOR.
Head of the project delivery team, Marcel Ifejiofor who disclosed that in the next two months, everything should have been completed and the airport delivered disclosed that for landscaping, the contract has been given and it is not a show stopper, as the budget for the contract is on a yearly basis.
With an apron of 300 by 200meters wide, it can take eight Boeing 727 aircraft at a time.
The airport has a strip of 140meters on the other side of the runway. There are three access roads to this airport, one of which is under contract and is being worked on, the other comes from Onitsha road and the third is a major entrance that leads to the express road. Checks also show that the access road is 85 percent completed.
With projected passenger traffic of 1,200 daily, the terminal is designed for 400 passengers at a time.
The new airport has a tank farm with a capacity of two million, one hundred (2,000,100ltrs) litres of aviation fuel.
The airport prides itself as the airport with the tallest control tower in Nigeria with its concrete completed. With a fire proof staircase, the control tower is also referred to as ‘the safe haven.’
“Once there is fire in that building and we enter the staircase and close it, the fire would not get in. It also has self-fire-fighting equipment. We have a tank and a fire pump house. Every room and office has a sprinkler.
“Beside it, we have a fire house. The fire house would take the most recent fire tenders in the world from Germany. This fire service takes 12,500 litres each and they are three. So the category of fire we have here is category 9, which is the biggest. The runway can also take A380,” Marcel Ifejiofor explained.
Checks show that the contact to train the technical personnel has been awarded to East wing. The training would include general training, including aviation safety and security. Airlines indicate interest Investors and airlines are already buying into the vision of the airport.
Checks show that Airpeace the largest carrier in Nigeria and West Africa have commenced plans to set up a Maintenance Repair Overhaul, (MRO) at the airport.
Other airlines have indicated interest to commence operations into Anambra International cargo and passenger airport as soon as the airport is commissioned. Also, there are plans to set up aviation training school within the airport environment.
“The governor of Anambra State had created a community. An airport is a community both socially and economically. The vision is unprecedented and he has taken Anambra state to another level both economically and socially,” Ifejiofor said.
Air Peace displayed its confidence in the vision of the airport as it became the first airline to land its aircraft at the Anambra International Passenger and Cargo Airport.
The foremost airline deployed two of its aircraft- an Embraer 145 and a Boeing 737- for the demonstration flights to unveil the airport sited in the Umuleri axis of the state.
Speaking at the event, the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for approving and enabling the project.
Onyema noted that the airport was one of the ‘fastest airports to be approved even for a test-flight’.
He stated: “What we have here is the widest runway ever and could land a Boeing 777 and an Airbus 380. This is the first time an airport would be doing a test-run with a Boeing 737. It used to be very small planes before”.