AKWA IBOM GOVT. TO PARTNER AIR FRANCE ON IBOM AIRPORT

AKWA IBOM GOVT. TO PARTNER AIR FRANCE ON IBOM AIRPORT

The Akwa Ibom Government and Air France may soon strike partnership deal in the running of the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility of Ibom International Airport, Uyo.
Governor Godswill O. Akpabio, who gave the indication Thursday when the Vice President of Air France industries, Marc Roubaud, paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Uyo, in the company of other management staff and experts in the aviation industry, said the State Government was prepared to provide adequate incentives for the partnership.
Such incentives include the provision of free accommodation, water treatment plant, adequate security and recreational facilities, Governor Akpabio said.
He told the visiting team that government has provided enough surveillance measures in addition to Air Force personnel at the airport, remarking ‘’Since you have shown interest to partner our government for the safety of our airport, we must provide you with adequate security equipment and a housing unit in a location of your
choice close to the airport’’.
Describing Akwa Ibom State as one of the safest states in the South-South Region of the country, he posited that the Federal Government has approved three additional military formations and NNS Jubilee in the state to check security infiltration from the neighboring states, saying ‘’If the MRO is to takes off immediately, we must get rid of terrorism since the airport is an international arena.’’
The Governor said the MRO of the airport is second to none in West Africa, and pledged to equip the airport with more facilities that the company may require for a partnership in the successful operation and running of the MRO facility, stating ‘’We have not stopped to develop the airport. In next year’s budget, we intend to put N18 billion for its development. We want to use Akwa Ibom as a nucleus to reach out other states’’.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Technical Matters, Engr. Etido Inyang said the management team of the company was in the state to inspect facilities in the airport and its MRO with a view to partnering the State Government.
Engr. Etido said the company had inspected the security and was  convinced about the security of the airport based on the installation of 70 cameras and additional 200 cameras for installation for security of the airport.
Yemi Aluko, Director of Anglestone Limited, Abuja said he was impressed at the MRO facility, saying the facility would make Uyo an economic hub in West Africa.
Aluko disclosed that other states in the country had approached them for partnership deal, but stated that having painstakingly inspected the MRO they were convinced that it would serve the Francophone and Anglophone countries.
He expressed happiness with the state government for using a first-class company to provide standard facilities in the state and pledged that Air France, being the number two aviation expert in the world, was ready to partner the government in the utilization of the MRO.
Earlier, the Vice President of Air France, Roubaud had thanked the state government for inviting their company to the airport, saying the company was prepared to participate in the development of the airport.
Roubaud who disclosed that the company has modern aircrafts in its hangar invited the Governor to Paris to see facilities and competence of the company in its ability to handle the MRO facility.