Rehabilitation of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) is being hampered by a lack of funds, according to Aviation Ministry Permanent Secretary, Binta Bello.
She made the disclosure after inspecting the airports, during which she was informed by project managers that most contractors handling the projects have moved out of site due to non payment for work done.
Messrs Mantrac Nigeria, the contractor at the MMIA, has suspended work. Some generating plants are not operated as the contractor insists on reimbursement before returning to the site.
At the new protocol lounge near the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) where about 80 per cent of the work has been done, Bello was informed that the contractor is also being owed, hence work is suspended.
Contract for the landscaping of the surroundings is yet to be awarded.
At PHIA, the contractor handling the construction of the departure and arrival halls, Messrs Inter Bau Construction, said work on phase 1 (departure) is between 80 and 90 per cent completion but work on phase 2 (arrival) “is almost nil.”
The company’s Chairman, Nath Okechukwu, disclosed in an interview that the contract for the second phase was awarded at a cost of N1.7 billion, and the last time he received part of the payment was in 2013.
Said he: “In phase 1, we have done about 80-90 per cent and phase 2 is almost nil. In phase 1, our money got exhausted; we don’t have money, we have to suspend work.
“In phase 2, the total sum then was N1.7 billion, but it has gone up though we don’t know how much we are coming up with.
“We hope very soon they will make some payments so that we may go back to work. The owner of the project has just finished inspection. When she gets back to Abuja then we will know what she is coming up with.
“If money is made available, we will deliver the project(s) before the current administration marks its first 100 days in office.”
Bello explained that her mission was to know the stages of completion in relation to money spent on the projects so far.
She gave an assurance that the government would “look at it and as soon as money is available, the contractors will be mobilised to the sites.”
She expressed satisfaction that “work is progressing very well” in the new terminals. “I am actually happy with what I have seen; I have seen the determination to improve infrastructure at the airports and we are taking what we have seen back to Abuja.
“I’ve been told they had some challenges during the take off of the projects. They have overcome most of them and they are working very hard to close the gaps created by the man hours lost.”
Bello agreed that the contractors would have done more work if they had been paid.
