By Shola Adekola | Lagos
“History has been made and this will remain indelible in the annals of the history of Ogun State, and a matter of fact Nigeria, as the first commercial aircraft landed at the Gateway Agro Cargo Airport located in the state.”
These were the words of Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, while speaking at the maiden test flight operations at the cargo airport, describing the development as critical to the subsequent full certification and licensing of the airport for safe operations by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Going down the memory lane, the governor described the maiden test flight as the actualisation of a dream conceived 16 years ago by the government of Otunba Gbenga Daniel under whom approval for the project was granted by the NCAA.
While describing the event as a dream come true, Abiodun said the test flight was a landmark that confirmed the determination of his government to develop an airport of international standards in the state to serve businesses, industry and the citizens of the state.
He said, “The development of the airport is in alignment with the vision of this administration which is focused on providing an enabling environment for public private partnership which is fundamental to economic growth of the state and the prosperity of the people of the state.”
The governor acknowledged the vital importance of strategic transportation infrastructure and services in facilitating the efficient and effective mobility of people and goods across and beyond the state and also accessibility to public services, industry and key drivers of economic activity in the state.
“In view of the planned spread of economic activities and clusters across the state, coupled with spatial distribution of current, planned and proposed road and rail transportation networks, the air transportation components of the plan demanded that the facility be located here in the Shagamu/Remo nexus of the Lagos-Ibadan and Lagos-Benin expressway.
“The choice of the location allows for easy access to the different parts of the state, not leaving out Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria. The eastern and northern regions of Nigeria will also be easily accessed from this same location,” the governor added.
Among the features that will be available in the cargo airport, according to the governor, are an aerotropolis and airport city on the 5,000 hectares of land of the agro-cargo and passenger airport.
Other features are the runway that is 60 metres wide and 1.5 metres’ shoulder on both sides, with a big surface asphalt of 230 millimetres, making the facility one of the best designed airports and best built anywhere in the world.
Attesting to the standard status of the cargo airport runway, the pilot in command of ValueJet Airlines CRJ-90 aircraft that operated the first commercial flight into the airport, Captain Ahmadi Muhammad, described the runway as perfectly flat with an even surface and no crack.
The highlight of the occasion was the handing over of certificate of approval to the governor by the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, for adhering to the technical standards in the entire formwork for a category 4E airport as approved by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.
