The construction of Zamfara Cargo Airport expected to begin operations by the end of year has been halted due to insecurity and lack of appropriate funds.
The State Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Matters, Alhaji Ahmad Muktar Ahamad stated this in an interview with newsmen in Gusau.
Ahmad Mukhtar said part of the major challenges was the lingering insecurity threat coupled with this year’s heavy rainfall which became the stumbling block towards the progress of the construction process.
According to him, the construction project could not continue without approving the construction architectural design by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA as submitted by the consultants.
When Radio Nigeria visited the site, it discovered that, the level of work on the construction site seemed to be very minimal, which indicate that, the project is currently suffering setback due to lack of fund.
The Commissioner maintained that major parts of the basic requirements had already been achieved such as complete payment of land compensation to owners, completion of the Runway, and the payment of over one hundred million naira to the NCAA for the issuance of certificate of clearance for the continuation of the project.
Ahmad further explain that, the construction of an airport, particularly Cargo airport is not only time consuming, but is a huge capital intensive project needing huge fund.
He explained that as against the initial cost projections of Ten billion naira earmarked for the project, the upward review may hit up to twenty billion naira considering the increasing costs of building materials at the moment.
The Commissioner said Governor Bello Matawalle had prioritise the provision of the Cargo airport as his pet project and was committing a lot to ensure that the project becomes a reality.
SANI HARUNA