Amaka Obiefuna.

The Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, says the proposed closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja for maintenance repairs works for six weeks will have a devastating effect on the Nigerian economy and potential negative impact on the country.

President of NSE, Mr Otis Anyaeji told journalists in Abuja that any disruption in the operation of an International airport which connects Nigeria and the rest of the world would have huge impact and is not in line with international best practice.

He said NSE being mindful of the security implication that might also be associated with such plan, urged the Government to adopt the operational models at Uli airports which was kept open during the civil war through quick fixes to crater caused by exploding bombs on a nightly basis.

“In far world scenarios, committed efforts have airports operational while maintenance repairs are on-going. A good example of that was the replacement of the ageing Frankurf runway in 2005, closure of the runway was not an option. All work was scheduled on a seven and half hour night time window over three hundred night in fifteen meters section of the main runway. The replacement material by down was hard enough to hold the Boeing 747 and cool enough not to explode its tyres,” Mr Anyaeji said.

According to him, the Dubai International airport is presently under-going repairs constantly and the authorities never close down the airport.

He also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint competent and professionally exposed engineers to head engineering infrastructure Ministries as a way of strengthening the change agenda of the government.

It could be recalled that Nigeria’s Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika had earlier announced the proposed plan to close the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja for six weeks for repair works.

During which the Kaduna International airports will be used as alternative.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, the Nigerian Society of Engineers and the construction firm to handle the planed project, Julius Berger, will all appear before the Nigerian Senate for extensive deliberation on the best option to the proposed repair work at the Abuja airport.