March 10, (THEWILL) – As a way to boost non-aeronautical revenue, the Port Harcourt International Airport is planning to embark on the construction of a mega shopping mall at the airport.
The Regional Manager, South South/South East airports, Mr Felix Akinbumi, who disclosed this to journalists in Port Harcourt recently, explained that the management of the airport was moving in an uncommon way to get a business plaza, which will be the first of its kind in the country.
According to Akinbumi, when completed and put into use, it will generate huge revenue for the authority.
He said with the large expanse of land at the airport, location for the mall will never be a problem.
The airport manager disclosed that domestic passengers’ traffic has been steady, adding that the domestic terminal find it difficult to take all the passengers as a result of the number of operating aircraft arriving at a time.
“Domestic operations have been encouraging and tremendous.
We are expecting same at the international terminal very soon.”
Akinbumi noted that a steady progress was being made at the international wing, when Turkish Airline and Ethiopian airlines operated in 2019. He, however, added that with the COVID-19 in 2020, activities were brought down drastically.
He said it remained a great challenge in 2020, while it picked up a little in 2021 when restrictions of movement were lifted.
Akinbumi also disclosed that with the coming of Qatar airways this month and Turkish in the second quarter, the international activities will pick up again.
He equally noted that the encroachment on the airport land by the people around is quite challenging. Adding that several correspondences have been written to the headquarters, while dialogue is ongoing.
Akinbumi decried the absence of non-dedicated power line to the airport, but revealed that power supply to the airport was fairly stable except when there was maintenance or transmission challenges.
On the issue of security, Akinbumi said, there is always a joint patrol team comprising security personnel at the airport to raid the area of unwanted elements.
He informed that said access cards of some government officials caught for extortion have been retrieved, just as he revealed that the Aviation Security (AVSEC) reviews their CCTV cameras regularly and any culprit apprehended for any misdemeanour were punished after withdrawing their On Duty Cards (ODC).
PHOTO CAPTION
Regional Manager, South South/ South East airports Mr Felix Akinbumi
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
