The Managing Director of Julius Berger, Wolfgang Goetsch, on Tuesday stated that the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja is horrible state, necessitating the need for total closure for repairs.
The airport has been scheduled for closure for six weeks.
The Nigeria Society of Engineers had said while presenting its position to the Senate that there should be no need for total closure of the airport for six weeks.
The NSE advised Julius Berger to use segmented approach in the repair.
However, Goetsch, who appeared before the Senate also, defended total closure of the airport.
According to him: “T there is absolutely no option than to close the runway for these six weeks because it is not a repair work.
“It is a new construction of the whole surface of the building.”
Goetsch explained that considering the extent of damage at the airport, there is the need for total closure for six weeks.
He, however, said if the Senate insists the airport should not be closed, it would take not less that two years to fix the damages.
In his words: “It can be shut down in the night.
“The spot can be repaired and in the morning temporarily given back for usage.
“But the state of the runway in Abuja, the extent of damage and deterioration, the whole runway from one end to the other end is damaged.
“This means that if the method of spot repair is used, you start from one side of the runway, lock it in the night and in the morning to open it up for traffic.”
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