Lagos — Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State has announced that the cargo airport which his administration started would be completed in December this year.

Speaking to newsmen at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos yesterday, Saraki said that the airport would serve as alternative to Lagos. He expressed hope that the objective of the airport would be realised so that the state could recoup what it has invested in the project.

"You know, we are almost through on two projects: one is the cargo airport project that we hope to complete by December and it will give us the most modern cargo facility in the country adequate for cold storage and we hope that that will stimulate 52 percent of goods that are not destined for Lagos that come through Lagos.", he said.

He dismissed the doubt that the airport would not be profitable because of its proximity to Lagos, saying that the state has already started attracting airlines that would operate from the airport.

"Already, we have started discussing and we have the most modern facility around and our rates will be lower and we believe that turn around time will be higher and there is too much congestion here in Lagos because of the work load and all." he said.

Saraki noted that another advantage the state has is the fact that it has concluded plans to build an aviation college for manpower development

He disclosed that Kwara will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with United Arab Emirates (UAE) aviation school for technical support for the growth of the new college.

"We have started an Aviation College. On Wednesday, we are signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chief Executive of Horizon Aviation from UAE in Ilorin.

We believe that with that we will start the construction of the school and we believe that that will be a great stimulus to the aviation sector. We also have a lot of Nigerians who are pilots and I believe that by the time we start, and crash the rate, they will come, stay here in Nigeria instead of going abroad, because the cost of training will be cheaper for them", he said.

He added, "Horizon today is one of the fastest growing schools in the world. Ours will be a very private and public sector thing, it's an alternative; all along we've had Zaria, so it will be of advantage to us. Once things are done right, there is a lot of potential. It is clear that Zaria is not enough and that is why people are going abroad. This will go a long way to help the aviation sector."

From the federal government point of view, we need them to fast track all our paper work. We are very hopeful that it will make a difference in the aviation sector."