Growth of Commercial Sector Infrastructure (VII)
Continued from last Monday
Ilorin International Airport Cargo Terminal
The Cargo Terminal at Ilorin International Airport will provide a huge boost for importers and exporters
The Ilorin International Airport Cargo Terminal is a major innovation and a significant factor in the outward-looking policies of the administration of Kwara State. The year 2010 will see this facility in full use. The implications of this modern facility being at full capacity for the state of Kwara and the Federal Republic of Nigeria are expected to be great, as indeed they may be for the whole of West Africa.
The cargo terminal is designed to support the broader economic policies of Kwara State, and in particular the agricultural plans. These take a holistic view of the agricultural cycle, and support primary producers, transporters and companies that add value later in the cycle through processing.
The modern Cargo Terminal supports this comprehensive approach as it allows for the export of fresh produce (because of the cold-storage and wet facilities at the terminal], the export of processed agricultural products (because of the large storage areas] and the import of materials and equipment needed for the support of the agricultural sector. Designed to take the strain off the massively busy airport at Lagos, the Cargo Terminal in Kwara State aims to take advantage of the state’s already advantageous, central, position. Good road links south to Lagos connect the state with the most populous region in Nigeria, but crucially link to the central and northern parts of the federation without the congestion associated with the south-western sector. The Cargo Terminal is expected to serve the five other states in the North-Central zone (Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa, Plateau and Benue) together with all of the states in the North-West zone (Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa]. In addition, Kwara is well located in relation to the nation’s capital, Abuja.
The primary product to be handled out of the new terminal in the first phase will be the agricultural produce of the Shonga farms. This includes dairy products, poultry and cassava. Many other crops have great potential, as does the horticultural sector.
Cut flowers are an extremely lucrative market. Now that the Cargo Terminal has up-to-date refrigeration facilities, Kwara State entrepreneurs will be in a position to exploit the fact that the main centres of Europe are within a six-hour flight from lIorin International Airport.
