Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services, the company handling the construction of MKO International Airport, Ido Osun, in Osun State, has said that the airport will have the longest runway in the country by the time it is completed.

The Project Supervisor of the company, Mr. Abubakar Abuyaro, said this while conducting Governor Rauf Aregbesola round the airport on Tuesday.

He stated that the airport was being built to accommodate Boeing 737 series and other big aircraft.

While assuring the governor that the airport would be ready in May 2014, Abuyaro said the runway would be 3.5 kilometres long.

With 3.5 kilometres runway, the airport under construction beats the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja in terms of the length of the runway.

According to Abuyaro, the length of the runway of an airport determines the aircraft the airport can accommodate.

Abuyaro said, “50 per cent of the earthwork on the runway, which is the most important part of the job, has been achieved. Rainy season is gradually coming to an end.

“As soon as rainfall subsides, work will definitely go at a high speed in the airport, which after completion, is going to be one of the best airports in the country.”

Aregbesola commended the company for its diligence to work and urge the workers not to fail.

The governor had earlier visited the East By-pass Road where he inspected one of the major bridges still under construction in an effort to ensure that contractors handling various projects in the state carry out quality jobs and complete the projects at the stipulated time.

The project being handled by a Turkish company, Slava Yeditepe, is to complete the circle of rings around the state capital and ensure no traffic bottlenecks are created as the state capital witnesses rapid developments.