{"id":64273,"date":"2018-10-25T18:43:14","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T17:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=64273"},"modified":"2018-10-25T18:43:14","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T17:43:14","slug":"affordable-air-travel-key-to-our-development-plan-buhari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/affordable-air-travel-key-to-our-development-plan-buhari\/","title":{"rendered":"AFFORDABLE AIR TRAVEL, KEY TO OUR DEVELOPMENT PLAN \u2013 BUHARI"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Port Harcourt, River State, said<\/div>\n
the Federal Government\u2019s removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) from domestic<\/div>\n
air travels will reduce air fares, enable speedy movement of more people<\/div>\n
and spur business activities that will stimulate the economy.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Speaking at the commissioning of the new terminal of Port Harcourt<\/div>\n
International Airport Omagwa, President Buhari said the decision by the<\/div>\n
Federal Government to remove VAT from domestic air transportation was in<\/div>\n
line with global best practices of making air transportation affordable,<\/div>\n
which will subsequently lead to the creation of more jobs by the air<\/div>\n
transport service value chain.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He said the removal of VAT will also increase revenue for the government<\/div>\n
with more traffic at the airports.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The President noted that the increase in national population with<\/div>\n
consequent surge in air passenger traffic necessitated upgrading and<\/div>\n
construction of new airports across the country.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI am very pleased to formally commission the new International Terminal<\/div>\n
of the Port Harcourt airport, Omagwa, today. This ceremony represents a<\/div>\n
significant landmark for international air travellers, particularly from<\/div>\n
the South-South region and the entire country.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cYou will recall that after opening the major airport terminals in the<\/div>\n
country in the late 70s and early 80s, not much was added to increase the<\/div>\n
passenger handling capacity of these facilities by successive<\/div>\n
administrations.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cFollowing the large increase in national population with consequent surge<\/div>\n
in air passenger traffic, the capacity of the airport terminals became<\/div>\n
woefully inadequate to cater for the increase in passenger traffic,\u2019\u2019 he<\/div>\n
added.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The President said decisive actions had to be taken by the Federal<\/div>\n
Government to ensure that terminals meet minimum international standards<\/div>\n
for the travelling public.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe Federal Government responded to a global trend in which aviation<\/div>\n
became a catalyst for economic growth as a result of massive and speedy<\/div>\n
movement of persons, goods and services in a safe and secure manner.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cAs part of the infrastructure renewal program, the construction of four<\/div>\n
new international terminals at Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano<\/div>\n
airports was embarked upon by the Federal Government with a view to<\/div>\n
modernising the aging airport infrastructure to meet global aviation<\/div>\n
standards and improved service delivery in tandem with best international<\/div>\n
practices,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
President Buhari said at the presentation of the 2017 Budget to the<\/div>\n
National Assembly he promised to upgrade and develop Nigeria\u2019s transport,<\/div>\n
power and health infrastructure, and complete a number of stalled<\/div>\n
infrastructure projects, which includes major airports, roads and power<\/div>\n
projects, and the\u00a0 completion of the Kaduna\u2013Abuja as well as Itakpe to<\/div>\n
Warri Railway lines.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The President said Nigeria, having an advantageous central location within<\/div>\n
the sub-region with a desire to develop into a regional air transportation<\/div>\n
hub, must upgrade its facilities to take advantage of its assets.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In his remarks, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike said the state<\/div>\n
was safe for visitors and investments, commending the Federal Government<\/div>\n
for its intervention in ensuring a better airport for the people, which<\/div>\n
will attract more investments.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Wike also said the state government will revamp the road leading to the<\/div>\n
international terminal for ease of access for the public.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In his remarks, the Minister of State, Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, said<\/div>\n
the Federal government injected $461 million into the airport projects to<\/div>\n
enable construction.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The new terminal of Port Harcourt International Airport Omagwa completely<\/div>\n
alters the poor rating by Sleep in Airports in 2017, which listed the<\/div>\n
airport as the third worst in the world.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Port Harcourt, River State, said the Federal Government\u2019s removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) from domestic air travels will reduce air fares, enable speedy movement…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAFFORDABLE AIR TRAVEL, KEY TO OUR DEVELOPMENT PLAN \u2013 BUHARI - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/affordable-air-travel-key-to-our-development-plan-buhari\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AFFORDABLE AIR TRAVEL, KEY TO OUR DEVELOPMENT PLAN \u2013 BUHARI - 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