June 2014

"We are currently working with the Federal Ministry of Aviation to develop an international passenger and cargo Airport,which is now under construction.The State Government's contribution to the development of that airport is over 24 Billion Naira. It is a mega project,a lot of sand filling has started. The Federal Government has the responsibility for building the terminal building,the Federal Executive Council has awarded the contract and construction of the Terminal building."

"We hope that, God Willing,the new Airport should be ready next year.It is not a military airfield but the idea the Airforce has just come up with having a smaller Airstrip within the Metropolis that will serve Military purposes which will also be opened for some limited civilian flights is wonderful.More so because we are also thinking of a city Airport within Yenagoa having opened up Yenagoa to the investing world from within and outside."

"We are concerned about a situation where people will land within the state capital and within the city centre,transact their businesses and possibly get back to their various destinations."

http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/150344/1/governor-dickson-gives-progress-report-on-bayelsa-.html

July 2014

Less than a year after obtaining a 66 million Euros (N13 billion) foreign loan from Poland for a Maritine University in September 2013, the Bayelsa government has concluded plans for another loan facility. The new facility would, however, be from Nigerian banks and for an airport project.
Mr. Dickson told Bayelsa lawmakers that despite the federal government’s involvement in the airport construction, the state government needed a N40 billion loan for the project.
The N40billion loan to be sourced from commercial banks in Nigeria will finance the cargo airport project, being constructed near Amassoma in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.
The governor had, last week, forwarded a letter of request to the People Democratic Party, PDP, dominated House of Assembly, seeking approval for the loan.
Although details of the loan are yet to be made public, PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the N40 billion loan facility would attract a total interest of N32 billion to be serviced within eight years, bringing total repayment to N72 billion.
Mr. Dickson in the letter assured the Assembly that the airport would be ready for use by the last quarter of 2015.
He said the Federal Government’s contribution to the airport project is the construction of the terminal building; while the federal government’s earlier contract awarded through the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to sand fill the site, would continue at its pace.
“Out of the total estimated cost of the project, the state government has already expended the sum of N9.3billion for payment of compensation for land, consultancy services, construction of run-way and clearing of land, among others”, Mr. Dickson stated.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/164625-governor-dickson-seeks-n40-billion-loan-for-bayelsa-airport-project.html

January 2015

The Bayelsa government said on Friday that the ongoing multi-billion Cargo International Airport in the state would be completed and ready for use by the end of 2015.

Mr Lawrence Ewrudjiakpor, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructural Development, disclosed this to newsmen in Ogbia Local Government Area during an inspection of some ongoing projects in the state.

Ewrudjiakpor said that an airport was necessary to attract more investments for industrialisation, tourism and even revenue generation in the state.

“You can see that we’ve gone round today, all the project sites we visited, the contractors are working in a full tootle. Now, at the airport site, the contractor is pushing very well with the vertical drain and the good news we have is that sedimentations have taken place very much, settlement of the sand is moving faster than we expected.

“So, hopefully by the end of February, we should start the civil works from what the Project Manager has told us and we are very happy with that development because we want that project.

“I have promised Bayelsans by the end of this year, we should be able to land the first plane there. For the governor’s house, we are almost about 60 to 65 per cent completed.

“Now, at the tower hotel, they’re casting the roofing now, and we are sure in the next two weeks, they will complete the casting of the roofing. These are very key projects; the airport, the tower hotel.

“These are the key projects that we want to complete, especially the tower hotel, have become a kind of monument that a lot of people feel that it shouldn’t stand the way it stand.''

http://www.nannewsnigeria.com/bayelsa-cargo-airport-be-ready-end-2015-commissioner

Can we cancel this project?

Keneking:
Can we cancel this project?

Project that will be completed before the end of the year 2015?

Don't you know they are putting finishing touches at the moment?