Airport Relocation Has No Political Undertone – Osun Govt

Amid protests by Ido Osun Indigenes over the relocation of Osun State Airport from Ido Osun in Egbedore local government to Akoda in Ede South local government, the Osun State government has said the relocation has no political undertone.

The state government, who attributed the relocation to a lack of the required space for the kind of airport envisioned, added that it was designed to achieve commercial viability and safety, which is in the state’s best interest.

Briefing journalists in Osogbo on Wednesday following the protest by Ido Osun Indigenes over the relocation, Lai Oriowo, a technical member of the Osun Airport project, said the Ido Osun site failed to meet the standard prescribed by aviation regulations and International Civil Aviation Authorities.

However, he faulted the assumption that the Ido Osun site had been abandoned, saying that, based on the MOU between the state and the Air Force, it will serve as a backup for the new airport apart from serving as a training school for the air force.

Oriowo disclosed that though successive administrations had taken one step or the other on the Ido Osun airport project, the Adeleke administration found it expedient to set up a technical committee of professionals to consider all the issues for a decision on the existing site.

He added that the team found that “the total area of the site was approximately estimated to be 3,871,806.34 square meters (387.18 Ha). The existing runway, which is 1.67km, needed to meet the required standard. The minimum runway for a standard airport is 4.8km.

“The runway length required for class 4E Aircraft is 3600 x 45m and additional minimum distance of 750 meters on both approaches for Runway End Safety Area/Clearway for instrument runway is 5,100m against the available dimension of 3,250m”, among others.