N580bn allocated for 17 airport runways rehabilitation, FAAN MD replies critics

Olubunmi Kuku, managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has clarified the N580 billion budgeted for the rehabilitation of runways across the country, addressing critics’ concerns over the project’s cost.

In an interview with TVC on Thursday, Kuku said the allocation covers more than just rehabilitating 17 runways and also includes additional infrastructure such as perimeter roads and fencing.

On January 15, the FAAN MD said N580 billion is needed to fix airport runways across the country.

Speaking on the state of airport facilities, Kuku said many runways have exceeded their lifespan, necessitating urgent reconstruction.

“So I would like to clarify two things. We have a number of runways in Nigeria today. There are 22 airports that are owned by the federal government. We also support some airports that are owned by the state,” she said.

“The average lifespan of a runway is about 20 to 25 years. A lot of our runways in Nigeria have actually exceeded that time, meaning that we have had them for 30-35 years and what it means is that we need to actually reconstruct those runways.

“The reconstruction of those runways, the 580 billion that I initially mentioned is actually for over 17 runways and it’s not just the runways. It includes some perimeter roads. It includes fencing.”

‘CHECK GOOGLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT TAKES TO BUILD RUNWAYS’

Addressing public skepticism about the project’s cost, Kuku asked critics to consider the complexities involved in airport infrastructure development.

“I have seen some commentary where people are saying, what do they need all of this money for? I encourage you, please just look at Google if you are in the construction business or in the aviation business, to try and understand what it means to build runways, taxiway links, apron expansion work that we need to do, and of course, to make sure that we put a safe environment together for everything that happens on the air side,” she said.

Kuku also provided insights into the second runway project in Abuja, awarded during the previous administrations.

The FAAN MD acknowledged the concerns of Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation, regarding the project’s cost variations influenced by changes in project scope and foreign exchange fluctuations.

“That project was initially awarded to some consultants and contractors by previous administrations. I believe that from conversations with the ministry, the scope of that project has changed. There’s also been price variations, of course, which is affected by the scope and FX fluctuations,” she said.

“There’s some additional information that has come on, which the minister has and which provides him with a lot of discomfort around the numbers that have been provided to him, and to that effect, he has largely come out to say, instead of accepting a figure that has been provided to him, he needs to provide more oversight and more scrutiny.”

Keyamo, on January 23, said the contractors handling the second runway project of the Abuja international airport are requesting N532 billion.

He said the proposed variation was against the initial N90 billion allocated for the project’s execution.

The minister added that the government found the request unacceptable.