Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state Tuesday announced the decision of the state government to build an airport.
The governor said the proposed airport will cost the state twelve billion naira N12 billion and will be funded with internally generated revenue (IGR).
“From the proposals we have gotten, the cost of building the airport will be within the range of N12 billion and it will commence as soon as the budget is approved,” he stated.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen after he presented the 2020 budget estimate, Ortom explained that the cargo airport project was an initiative of the private sector that has failed, adding that government did not contribute financially to the project.
He said the project is expected to be completed within a period of two years.
“Let me clarify this, the cargo airport we attempted to do in the first tenure was purely a private sector initiative. Benue government did not make inputs in terms of committing resources to that project.
“It was purely a private sector initiative which we welcome, it became a failed project and Benue government did not have any liability with that project whatsoever.
“Now we are talking about the Benue state government project because we have seen that it is very critical for a state that which is the Food Basket of the Nation with vast potentials in terms of taking on the entire agricultural value chain we believe that with the airport investors will come,” he said.
