The Anambra government says it will construct another airport at Ndikelionwu, Orumba North LGA, less than four years after the inauguration of the Chinua Achebe International Cargo Airport, Umeri.
The Achebe airport project was officially launched on April 11, 2017, with construction finishing three years later and formal inauguration by former Governor Willie Obiano on October 30, 2021.
However, the managing director of the Chinua Achebe Cargo International Airport, Martins Nwafor, told journalists on Friday that another airport will be constructed in Ndikelionwu by the state.
Nwafor said the initiative was part of the present administration’s programme to transform the state into a smart megacity.
“The project will also attract investments by combining the aviation infrastructure with surrounding commercial, residential and logistics facilities to create a dynamic airport-driven city,” he said.
According to him, having more than one airport in the state will provide opportunities for industrialisation and accelerate the state’s overall development.
He explained that the visit aimed to identify a suitable and flyable location for the state government to develop another airport and an associated industrial park within the aerotropolis.
Nwafor, who doubles as the chairman of the new Airport and Aerotropolis Committee set up by the state government, emphasised that the project would be a game-changer as it would break the untapped economic opportunities in Anambra.
Former president-general of the Ndikelionwu Welfare Association, Fabian Nwosu, and the vice president, Ifesinachi Onwurah, thanked the government in their separate speeches for initiating a project that would create numerous job opportunities in their community.
They assured, on behalf of their community, to support the government in realising the project.
