Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has promised that the rehabilitation of the Abuja airport runway will not go beyond six weeks.
Amaechi gave the assurance when he appeared alongside his colleague Ministers at a town hall meeting organised by the Ministry of Information in Ilorin, Kwara State on Monday.
The minister said even though the closure of the airport will affect the economy, it was important that the repairs were done.
He said, “We are saying that the Abuja Airport runway was built to last for twenty years but we have been using it for thirty four years. It has become extremely dangerous to continue using it, the way it is right now.”
“We need to close it to rebuild it and reconstruct it. The foundation is almost gone and what we are asking for is patience.”
“If we don’t close it, we will be exposing lives. One of the constitutional responsibilities of the President is to protect lives and property. So you can’t deny us that responsibility. We believe that if we close it by March, in six weeks time, we shall be able to reopen it.”
“We know it is challenging for our economy. We think that we will keep to that six weeks,” he said.
