by crossriverwatch admin
All the required operational equipment needed to make the Bebi Airstrip functional have been installed last year and the airstrip is receiving regular flights since October last year.
Mrs Glory Asuquo, the Airstrip Manager said the Instrument Landing System, ILS, functional fire service vehicle manned by officials from the National Aviation Management Agency, NAMA and the Dupplar Very High Omni Directional Range machine, DVOR, have all been put in place.
“The DVOR machine we have here is just one of the two in the country and the other one is in Ikeja Airport which shows the commitment of the State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke towards providing the best equipment for the Bebi Airstrip in spite of the high cost”.
She said that the DVOR equipment apart from guiding and providing needed information to aircraft landing at the Bebi Airstrip, others flying over the area within one hundred kilometres radius use the equipment to locate their direction and other details they require.
Mrs Asuquo said aircraft with 50 to 60 sitting capacity can safely land at the airport at any time of the day. ‘We have a terrain that many pilots find interesting to fly to and with the sophisticated equipment we have put in place, any pilot flying a 50 to 60 seater plane can conveniently land here”.
She however said plans are afoot by the Department of Special Duties to construct a fence round the DVOR equipment which is located about a kilometer away from the runway to safe guard it from the locals who are attempting to excavate the cables laid underground.
Mr Christian Ita, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Liyel Imoke said the government is not sparing any effort towards making the Obudu Ranch Resort accessible and pleasurable to many people. “We are spending huge sums of money in maintaining the facilities at the Obudu Ranch Resort and the facilities at the Bebi Airstrip because we are determined to increase the foot falls to the Ranch”.
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