The President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria (AOPAN), Dr Alex Nwuba, has clarified that the Anambra State Government is not constructing a second passenger airport, but is developing a new economic city with an airport serving as its transportation and logistics hub.
In a statement issued on Monday, Nwuba said the project in Orumba North Local Government Area is officially known as the Anambra Aerotropolis Export Free Trade Zone and has been wrongly described in public discussions as another airport project.
According to him, the development is designed as a planned economic city centred on a cargo-led international airport, rather than simply an additional passenger gateway for the South-East.
Nwuba explained that the aerotropolis is intended to function as a logistics and industrial hub linking air, road, rail and inland water transport, while supporting manufacturing, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, commerce and exports.
He acknowledged that he had previously referred to the initiative as a second airport, but said that assessment was based on incomplete information.
The aviation expert said the economic value of an airport should be judged by the strength of the economy within its catchment area and the specific role the facility is designed to perform, not merely by its distance from existing airports.
He noted that the proposed airport is primarily planned as a cargo and logistics gateway serving Onitsha, Nnewi and other commercial centres across the South-East, where businesses currently depend heavily on Lagos and Port Harcourt for imports and exports.
Nwuba identified economic activities expected to benefit from the project, including Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing, Ibeto Group, Cutix Cables, the Nnewi auto parts cluster, Onitsha Main Market and the rice-producing areas of the Omambala plain.
He added that growing cross-border e-commerce and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are reshaping Africa’s logistics landscape and increasing the importance of regional cargo hubs.
Citing feasibility documents, Nwuba said the Orumba North site has an estimated 12.5 million people within a 100-kilometre radius, with Onitsha, Nnewi, Awka, Enugu, Owerri, Asaba and Aba all located within roughly 20 minutes to two hours by road.
He described the location as strategically defensible for a cargo and industrial hub because of its proximity to major commercial centres and the availability of large contiguous land.
On the existing Chinua Achebe International Airport at Umueri, Nwuba said the new project would not diminish its importance, noting that having more than one airport within a state is common both in Nigeria and internationally.
He explained that the key limitation at Umueri is land availability, while the Orumba North project sits on a substantial land bank already acquired by the state government.
According to him, the masterplan covers about 12,700 hectares and includes an airport city, mixed-use industrial city, agro-industrial park, pharmaceutical hub, logistics districts, commercial zones, residential areas and leisure facilities.
The development is also planned as a multimodal transport network, integrating road, rail and inland water transport, with connections to the proposed state rail corridor and the Onitsha River Port through the Second Niger Bridge axis.
Nwuba, however, cautioned that the projected economic benefits — including an estimated N350 billion to N600 billion annual contribution to Anambra’s GDP and up to 750,000 direct and indirect jobs — remain projections that will depend on effective implementation.
He said public scrutiny should focus on execution, including reliable power supply, transparent land administration, credible free zone governance and the ability to attract industrial tenants.
“Projects of this kind are not self-executing,” he said, adding that the real test of the aerotropolis will be disciplined implementation and the quality of investors it attracts.
Nwuba concluded that the public debate should move beyond the question of whether Anambra needs another airport and concentrate on how effectively the proposed aerotropolis can be developed as a long-term cargo, logistics and industrial hub for the South-East.
