From Segun Ayinde, Abeokuta
Former French Minister of Transport, Mr Djebbari Jean-Baptiste has disclosed the desire of investors from his country to invest in the transport sector in Ogun State, especially the agro-cargo airport.
Other areas of interest, according to Mr Jean-Baptiste, are the dry port, Olokola Sea Port and the railway system.
Fielding questions from newsmen after a closed-door meeting with Governor Dapo Abiodun in his office in Abeokuta, Jean-Baptiste said he is impressed with the level of infrastructural facilities at the airport, hence the need to draw the attention of French investors to the state.
“This is one of the several meetings I have had with the governor over the years. We discussed aviation-related items owing to the fact that the state is developing the Gateway International Airport, dry port and all the major infrastructural projects related to transport.
“We have many French operators who are involved in transportation, logistics and aviation. There are many interested in investing in Nigeria and Ogun State because it is seen as a very dynamic and reliable partner,” he said.
Jean-Baptiste added that he had met the governor on many occasions, including last December during the state visit of President Bola Tinubu to President Macron in France, and proposed to come and see how he could contribute to the amazing development in Ogun State in the area of transport and aviation.
According to the former transport minister, during the two-day visit, his team would tour Gateway International Airport, assess the opportunities regarding the Dry Port, seaport and the railway system with a view to share experiences, adding that “because I can see your products are developing very quickly and booming, the demography and market demand are very high.”
He described Governor Abiodun as a man with a clear vision who took pains to assemble good hands to assist him in realising his dreams for the state, noting that “it has been six years since he has been heading the state, and I can see that the changes are really massive and positive.”
Governor Abiodun had earlier informed his guests that his administration had developed a multimodal transport master plan meant to assist the state in designing its modes of transport to drive the economy.
The governor said commercial operations would have started in the last quarter but for the non-installation of navigational equipment like runway lights, emphasising that the aim of his administration is to make it the best-equipped airport in Nigeria.
“The airport, as I told you, is an ecosystem. It is situated in what we call our aerotropolis, so we have a Special Agro-Processing Zone there and we also have the Nigeria Customs and Excise Village because we envision the airport to have a system where Customs and Excise can process things very fast,” he added.
