Posted by Kenneth Ehigiator on
THE Federal Government may revoke the N700 million contract awarded Philips Project Centre Company for installation of airfield lighting on the resurfaced runway 18R (right) of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, if the facility was not urgently made available for use.
THE Federal Government may revoke the N700 million contract awarded Philips Project Centre Company for installation of airfield lighting on the resurfaced runway 18R (right) of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, if the facility was not urgently made available for use.
Aviation Minister, Prof. Babalola Borishade, who dropped the hint while inspecting the runway, also gave an indication of construction of a third runway for the airport which had in the last six weeks, witnessed series of air mishaps.
According to him, the contractor has collected no less than 90% of the total contract sum for the airfield lighting, although 65% of the amount was lodged in a bank in the form of performance bond.
He expressed dis-appointment at the contractor's refusal to see him on site at the weekend, despite earlier appointment to meet at the runway.
Prof. Borishade imme-diately ordered that the contractor be called to report at the airport runway from wherever he was.
A call pulled through to the contractor revealed he was in Port Harcourt, but was summoned by the minister to join the next available flight to Lagos and meet him on the runway.
'I won't leave until he (contractor) comes. It takes only an hour to come to Lagos from Port Harcourt by flight. He has been paid 90%; he took our money and has been very difficult. If he likes, let him come by 4:00pm, I won't leave until he comes," Prof Borishade made this declaration at about 1:30pm.
After some minutes' wait, Prof. Borishade got across to the contractor himself and ordered him to come over to Lagos immediately for a meeting with him in the office of the managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
He said the contractor had earlier been mobilised to the tune of 25% of the contract sum, aside from the 65% deposited in the bank.
He warned that the Federal Government may have no option but to recover its money to stave off the embarrassment recent mishaps at the airport had caused the country.
He attributed the air mishaps to the pressure that was brought to bear on the only functional runway 18L (left) of the airport where all traffic; local and international, had been diverted since the resurfacing of the alternate runway started last October.
On the construction of a third runway for the airport commissioned in 1979 by President Olusegun Obasanjo as military Head of State, Prof. Borishade said it had become very necessary because of the increased volume of air traffic at the airport.
He directed the managing director of FAAN, Engr. Mohammed Gambo Umar to get him the design of the proposed runway as soon as possible, and commended PWD Construction Company for completing the civil works of the rehabilitated runway even when they had not been paid.
Contracts for the resurfacing of runway 18R was awarded last year at the sum of N2 billion, and N700 million of the amount was for airfield lighting of the runway, which has been open only for day and emergency flight operations in the absence of the lighting system.