Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has revealed that the state-owned Agro-Cargo International Airport will boost trade, promote economic development and is set to revolutionize the nation’s aviation sector.
According to him, the airport is slated to commence operations before the end of this year.
He made this disclosure during a chat with newsmen over the weekend.
Governor Abiodun stated that the airport would be a commercial success in the aviation industry, as many companies have approached the state to relocate there due to the facilities in place at the airport.
Speaking further, he highlighted key attributes of the cargo airport, including having the longest runway, the largest apron, and control tower, emphasizing that the airport is destined to be the best in the country.
“We have been approached by cargo companies that now want to relocate where their cargoes are being delivered to and ship into Nigeria from where it is presently, simply because they have seen the size of our apron at the airport, which is 84,000 square meters. It is four or five times larger than the largest cargo airport in Nigeria.
“These cargo-based companies have now decided that once the airport is ready, they will be flying their cargoes that are destined for Nigeria to that airport, and from our airport, they will now be trans-shipping the cargoes to the other parts of Nigeria and even West Africa”, he explained.
Governor Abiodun projected that the airport would create a lot of jobs and promote economic development, even beyond Nigeria.
“When you look at all those that would be involved in these cargo operations in the distribution and in running of our airport from the Agro-producing zone to the Aerotropolis, you can just imagine the economic impacts and the number of jobs that will be created. The impacts will also resonate in the entire economy, not just in this country but in the entire Africa.”
He stressed that the airport was deliberately built to international standards because of its co-location in the special Agro-Processing zone. The governor expressed that with the construction of the airport, Ogun State has now been brought to global limelight.
In his words, “Like they say, ‘when you build a road, it takes you from one location to the other, but when you build an airport, it takes you from one location to the rest of the world.’ By this world-class International Airport that we have constructed in Ogun State, Ogun State is now open to the entire world as the industrial capital of Nigeria.”