The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, has assured that the new international terminal under construction at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, would be opened for operation in five weeks.
Sirika gave the assurance at the 5th Aviation Stakeholders’ Forum, on Thursday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the terminal, is being constructed by the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC).
The project is funded with 500 million dollars loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) and 100 million dollars counterpart funding from the Nigerian government.
The minister said the new terminal had the capacity to process four million passengers annually.
He said the delay in the completion of the project was caused by some deficiencies discovered in the course of executing the project.
According to him, additional 490 million dollars is required to address the variations.
“The location of the terminal has affected the master plan of the airport and as such we are required to spend additional 490 million dollars which has been approved by FEC.
“There are also additional works to be carried out like the 1,300 capacity multi-storey car park and linking of the new terminal to the train station.
“In four to five weeks time, the terminal will be inaugurated to start operation which will increase the capacity of the airport,” he said