The Anambra State Government has announced plans to construct a new airport at Ndikelionwu, Orumba North Local Government Area, less than four years after the inauguration of the Chinua Achebe International Cargo Airport, Umeri.
The Chinua Achebe Airport project was launched on April 11, 2017, completed three years later, and formally inaugurated by former Governor Willie Obiano on October 30, 2021.
Speaking during an inspection visit to Orumba North on Friday, the Managing Director of Chinua Achebe International Cargo Airport, Martins Nwafor, confirmed that the state would site another airport in Ndikelionwu.
Nwafor explained that the initiative is part of the present administration’s vision to transform Anambra into a smart megacity.
“The project will also attract investments by combining the aviation infrastructure with surrounding commercial, residential and logistics facilities to create a dynamic airport-driven city,” he said.
He added that having multiple airports in the state would accelerate industrialisation and overall development, noting that the new facility would be tied to an aerotropolis project.
Nwafor, who also chairs the Airport and Aerotropolis Committee, stressed that the project would unlock untapped economic opportunities for Anambra.
Community leaders welcomed the development. Former President-General of the Ndikelionwu Welfare Association, Fabian Nwosu, and the association’s vice president, Ifesinachi Onwurah, described the project as a timely investment that would create massive job opportunities.
They pledged the community’s full support to ensure its success.
Other officials on the visit included Prof. Charles Ofoegbu, Managing Director of Anambra State Solid Minerals Development Company Limited; Retired AVM Ben Chiobi, Senior Special Adviser on Security to the Governor; and architect Chukwudi Ezenwa, founder of Sliding Towers.
Geologists and geophysicists from the state solid minerals company also accompanied the team to provide mapping of the proposed location.
