Airport workers in Akwa Ibom State will soon heave a sigh of relief from the stress of having to be committing several kilometres daily from Uyo, the state capital, to and from their place of work, Victor Attah International Airport (VAIA).
A move to making this a reality was the laying of the foundation for the Aviation Village, a residential quarters for the airport workers, Monday.
Performing the ground- breaking ceremony of the project located within the Victor Attah International Airport premises, state governor, Umo Eno said that the village would enhance the productivity of airport workers in Akwa Ibom.
He said, “The Aviation Village of which ground breaking ceremony we have gathered here to perform is a project that speaks to our passionate dedication to the expansion of the aviation ecosystem.
“It is going to provide residential quarters for workers in the first phase which will help further drive our vision to becoming the Nation’s major aviation hub.”
Enọ informed that the second phase of the project will have a school and other facilities, noting that “twelve parastatals would benefit and this will have direct impact on the operations of the airport.”
He added that to hasten the completion of the project, several contractors would be engaged, explaining that the work will start with the construction of the perimeter fence and gate house.
Enọ highlighted that he has purchased four additional aircrafts to Ibom Air fleet, advancing that he envisaged the state as a huge construction site in 2025 as its budget has provided for a good number of projects for execution, and urged contractors to be engaged for the work to take live up to the expectations of government.
He announced plans to build Elderly People’s Home and a new Medical Village for medical doctors serving at the Ibom Specialist Hospital, explaining that the aim was to prepare for the running of the hospital with foreign technical partners as originally conceptualised.
He noted, “We are partnering with international organisations and we are employing the doctors that will run the facility, and we are providing accomodations for those doctors. We will run the facility in the model of the Ibom Air, a government facility, but managed as a private concern.”
On his recent removal from office of the managing director of Ibom Power Company, the governor explained that the action was to put the company on sound footing, urging other heads of departments and parastatals to embrace probity and be profit-minded.
He appreciated the airport staff for their support and dedication to duty, assuring that contrary to agitations, his government will pay all their emoluments.
The Commissioner of Housing, Otuekong Raphael Bassey, said that the Aviation Village project situated on 15.072 hectares of land and would have a total of 62 two-bedroom flats, 55 three bedroom flats, a primary school and other facilities.
On his part, the chairman, Ibom Airport Development Company Limited, Dr Iniobong Essien, noted that the Aviation Village would not only upgrade the standard of the airport, but would also better position it for planned international operations.
The chairmen of the host Local Governments of Uruan, Nsit Atai and Okobo, appreciated the governor for the project, and assured that the host communities would give their cooperation to ensure timely completion of the project.
