The hustle by motorists for parking
space at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja has grown
intense in the past few weeks.
The fact is that structures are already being erected in the open spaces meant for motorists to park their vehicles.
Although the construction work at the
facility is for the good of travellers and other airport users, this has
created problems for visitors, particularly those who lack the basic
understanding of the terrain of the NAIA.
The NAIA Abuja is arguably the second
busiest airport in Nigeria, receiving thousands of passengers on a daily
basis. As a result, vehicular traffic into and out of the facility is
often high.
The
busy nature of the airport is no surprise as it is the major gateway to
the country’s seat of power. Politicians, businessmen and women,
contractors and persons from all walks of life come into or exit the
Federal Capital Territory through the airport.
The significance of this facility,
therefore, cannot be overemphasised. No wonder, the intense construction
work is going on at the airport.
It was learnt that the construction is
to expand the international terminal. This, however, has led to the
blocking of one of the most expansive car parks there.
Some roads at the airport have been
barricaded, stopping motorists from gaining entry into places that they
used to assess freely.
Vehicles now park on the narrow road
that leads to the departure and arrival terminals, a development that
results in traffic congestion at the airport, particularly during
weekends.
Although the Federal Airport Authority
of Nigeria has created other spaces where vehicles can be parked, most
motorists prefer parking along the narrow road that leads to the
terminals because of its proximity to the arrival and departure halls.
It was observed that the closest car
park to these terminals is small and cannot contain the influx of
vehicles into the airport daily.
The number of vehicles that can be accommodated is very negligible when compared to motorists that come into the airport.
As a result, passengers whose vehicles
are parked at distant parks have to walk long distances to where their
cars are stationed.
“It is not an easy thing to move this
distance carrying heavy luggage,” a passenger, Babatunde Oduayo, told
our correspondent, while heading to where his friend’s car was parked.
He went on, “Formerly, we didn’t trek
this far to where we normally park, but you can see that the
construction exercise here has changed the face of this airport. And if
you say you want to wait in front of the terminal for someone to drive
the vehicle to come and meet you there, you may end up spending so much
time waiting as a result of traffic.”
Oduayo, however, admitted that “this is
the price we pay for development and I think it is a good one. But we
pray the construction will be fast and completed according to the actual
projected time.”
Another passenger, Dr. Johnson Fregene,
described himself as a regular traveller, and noted that he always tried
to avoid travelling into or out of Abuja on weekends.
He said, “The construction work here is
similar to what is going on in Lagos and this has limited the space
meant for cars to park. So, I try not to travel on weekends because the
traffic is always high and you hardly find where to park if you want to
pick someone from the airport.
“We hope that when the construction is
completed there will be ample space for people to drive freely when they
want to pick their wards and for others to park and wait for those they
are here to get. However, I think the security people here should stop
allowing people to park on the roads. This, to me, is not good because
it defaces the airport.”
The spokesperson, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati,
explained that the ongoing construction was for the international
terminal at the Abuja airport.
He noted that the construction exercise was being carried out simultaneously in some other airports across the country.
Dati urged passengers to bear with the
authority, stressing that it was normal to carry out construction work
on airport facilities worldwide.
He said, “The structure that you see
there is a terminal. It is the international terminal. It is undergoing
massive construction and even in Lagos it is the same thing. As the
construction progresses, they (contractors) need to block some areas and
restrict movement to such places.
“In fact, that of Abuja is not as bad as
Lagos where we had to relocate the car park completely. The parks have
to make way for the construction exercises at the airports. You know
there are safety issues that have to do with construction.”
He explained that building car parks
close to airport terminals posed safety risks to travellers and airport
users, adding that it was in the interest of the public that the
authority decided to relocate the parks and barricade some others.
Dati said, “If the car parks are close
to the terminals, they will create safety concerns. So, there are
parameters to adopt when doing such things and this is why the operators
were asked to create enough space.
“Meanwhile, it is important to state
that in airports globally, it is always work in progress. You don’t
finish airport construction. It is always work in progress because there
are always expansion projects that need to be done.
“So, we urge passengers to bear with
us and cooperate with the men on ground at the various airports where
such construction work is on. It is for the good of travellers in
particular and for the country as a whole.”
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