Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has called on prominent Rivers indigenes and Nigerians to stop de-marketing the state.
Speaking during the commissioning of the Port Harcourt International Airport Terminal on Thursday by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Rivers State Governor said that it is in the best interest of the entire South-South region for investments to flow into Rivers State.
“I urge all of us who are from Rivers State and others from Nigeria to market Rivers State and not de-market it. With this people will come and invest in the state. Other airlines will also operate from this airport ” he said
Governor Wike said that Rivers State is safe and secure for investments, hence the execution of key projects without hitches.
He said: “What has happened today showcases the fact that Rivers State is safe, Rivers State is secure for people to invest.
“If Rivers State is not safe , CCECC will not complete this project”.
The governor stated that the people of Rivers State and the Niger Delta are happy with the completion of the Port Harcourt International Airport Terminal.
“What you are doing today will boost Rivers economy and create investment opportunities “, he said.
He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to complete the domestic terminal of the Port Harcourt International Airport in line with his pledge.
Governor Wike approved the construction of the five kilometres transit road into the International Airport Terminal vicinity.
Commissioning the Port Harcourt International Airport Terminal, President Muhammadu Buhari said that it represents a significant landmark for international air travellers, particularly those from Rivers State.
President Buhari said that since the 1970s and early 1980s, not much was done to increase passenger handling capacity of the nation’s airports.
He commended the people of the South-South and other airport users for their cooperation while the project lasted.
Earlier, Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika said that the project which was initiated five years ago, is is seeing the light of the day under the Buhari administration.
He said that seven million passengers will be processed annually at the Port Harcourt International Airport Terminal, a figure which he noted is 15 times higher than the air-passenger traffic capacity of Ghana
The Minister of State for Aviation said that the Buhari administration inherited the project at about 30percent completion stage.
According to the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) brochure for the commissioning exercise: “The New Port Harcourt Airport Terminal building is built by CCECC Nigeria Ltd. The contract sum of the project is 111, 168, 752, 55 USD; 85 percent of the contract sum came from Export-Import Bank of China as a concessional loan, while 15 percent of the amount came as counterpart funding from the government of Nigeria. The contract was signed on December 3rd, 2012 , but large scale construction commenced on March 1, 2014”.
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