Lagos — The Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Fidelia Njeze, said that the Federal Government has intensified efforts on the rehabilitation and replacement of obsolete infrastructure in the nation's aviation sector towards achieving full implementation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation's (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARP) in various areas of air transportation.

Njeze, who spoke on the state of air transport industry in Nigeria at an aviation conference organised by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Lagos noted that government had already concluded some of the projects while some others were ongoing.

The Minister, who was represented by the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Richard Aisuebeogun, disclosed that FAAN is currently replacing some of the old control towers, which could not accommodate the new safe tower equipment provided by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and other temporary towers that have outlived their usefulness and long overdue for replacement.

Njeze revealed that the airports that are to benefit from the first phase of the programme include the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, which is about 80 per cent completed, the Kaduna, Maiduguri, Ilorin, Ibadan, Akure and Benin airports.

The contracts for the replacements of the control towers at the airports, she said, had been awarded. The Minister further said that FAAN has embarked on apron expansion programme at the Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt international airports to check the challenge of inadequacy of aircraft parking space at the airports.

The Abuja apron, she hinted, would be commissioned on April 12, 2011. She also pointed out that Nigeria has not relented in ensuring safety and security in the industry, adding that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had in 2010 attained FAA IASA Category 1 Certification, which gave Nigerian carriers and crew equal leverage to operate direct flights to the United States and hitherto highly restricted routes.

This, she said, was a testimony to the compliance of the nation's aviation industry to ICAO safety and security procedure.

She stated that her Ministry, through the NCAA, has commenced re-certification of the entire industry in accordance with the new internationally harmonized safety regulations.

In addition, the NCAA has concluded arrangements for the commencement of the International Civil Aviation Assessment Programme (ICASA), the Nigerian equivalent of the FAA IASA, to enable the NCAA assess foreign CAAs and Airline operators of countries intending to operate into Nigeria.

She highlighted some of the initiatives that had been taken in fostering safety and security at the nation's aviation industry, including the procurement/distribution of fire tenders to various airports across the country; procurement/installation of 10 3D Secure 1000 Rapiscan (Full Body Scanners) and procurement/installation of 22 Walk-through metal detectors and 14 baggage screening machines. Others were the construction of operational/perimeter fences at various airports, including Port Harcourt International Airport, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, Sam Mbakwe Airport Owerri, Yola Airport, Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu; construction of new control towers at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kaduna Airport, Maiduguri Airport, Ilorin Airport, Ibadan Airport, and Akure Airport; power supply improvement at various airports; Total Radar Coverage of the Nigerian Airspace; installation of Total Very High Frequency Radio (VHF) in different locations within the country to boost digital communication in the Nigerian Airspace; automation of Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) to provide the latest digital Air Traffic Control and Aeronautical Message Handling System; and the construction of a modern National Weather Forecasting and Climate Research Centre with Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) facilities, GIS facilities, Library, Weather Studio, Satellite data receiver and archiving facilities.

She said government has also begun the transformation, remodelling and modernization of airports, which will in the first phase cover the international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Calabar.

The Minister assured that Nigeria would continue to implement the civil aviation master plan by adhering and meeting up to ICAO standards and recommended practices.

"We shall continue to invest in current and next generation equipment as well as in the training of and deployment of skilled manpower in the sector to ensure continued safety and security in the aviation services," she added.