The ongoing Arise Palm Resort project in Akwa Ibom State has been described as a remarkably mind-blowing tourists delight to complement the services of the Victor Attah International Airport.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, stated this while fielding questions from Government House Correspondents shortly after his inspection of facilities at the Resort along Dominic Utuk Avenue, Uyo.
The Minister who disclosed that he was in the State to ensure the necessary infrastructure at the Victor Attah International Airport, VAIA, was in place for the Airport’s smooth take-off of operations in line with its recent status as international Airport, noted that aviation and tourism go together.
“Aviation is tied to tourism and commerce. They go together as a full package. So, we thought it fit to come and see the supporting infrastructure available to the new international airport that is about to take off,” he said.
According to Hon. Keyamo, “This one we have here, the Arise Palm Resort, is indeed huge and mesmerizing. What is here is one of the best facilities we are going to have in this country. This is a proper family resort to support our international airport business.”
He stressed that the artificial lake created with natural spring water coming from underground; the clubhouse; the villas: the floating bars and restaurants, the sporting and recreational facilities and the entire ecosystem complement the international airport.
The Minister commended Governor Umo Eno for being visionary and impactful in his transformation of the State to capture massive tourism traffic of the country and the world to the State.
“Governor Eno wants to turn this place to a separate tourists attraction, different from the rest of the country. And, we are already there,” he added.
He described as mind blowing the Governor’s vision of turning an ecological disaster zone to a tourists attraction, saying “this was an erosion spot, but today, it is spectacularly being transformed into a world-class tourist hub. It’s mind-blowing.
“It’s another tenth wonder of the world. I just want to congratulate the people of Akwa Ibom State in advance. This is huge and good for them. It is going to support the international airport. There is a symbiotic relationship that we have in aviation with tourism. And, with this, it is going to be one of the busiest international airports in Nigeria,” he assured.
Assessing the pace of work at the resort, Governor Eno expressed confidence that with the outset of the dry season, work has progressed quite speedily, and clarified that the resort will not be opened this December as expected to allow for a perfect finishing of the project.
“Work has gone up well as we expected, but we still won’t open in December. I like this project to be thoroughly finished. I don’t like what is called ‘soft opening,’ When we open, let us open in full,” he said.
He assured that, “very soon, we will announce a more stable date for its official opening. Let us not be in a hurry. I’m impressed with what I’ve seen here in the last one month. We will soon get it done and put to use as expected.”
On the inspection team were Secretary to the State Government, Prince Enobong Uwah; members of the State Executive Council; political stalwarts; captains of industry; and other Government functionaries.
