The Federal Government has announced plans to convert Zaria Hotels in Kaduna State to classrooms and hostels for the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.
Minister of Aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Zaria on Wednesday, June 19, 2024.
Keyamo noted that the Zaria Hotels had been acquired as an annexure to the NCAT to widen its growth potential.
The landmass we have here is enough for expansion, so the potential for the college, in terms of expansion, is great.
“But, in spite of that, we have also acquired Zaria Hotels as an annexure to the college. We want to add to the facilities on ground.”
The minister assured the management of the college that the government would keep working on areas that needed improvement.
On reports that the college’s fire simulator and other facilities are to be relocated elsewhere, the minister said that there was no such plan.
“There is nothing like that; if we do it, where are we going to take it to? NCAT is the training hub for the aviation industry; the rumour is being spread by mischief makers.”
In his remark, acting Rector of NCAT, Mr Joseph Imalighwe, commended the minister for the visit and support for the college.
NCAT was established in 1964 and funded by the Civil Aviation Department in the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Aviation.
It was designed to be a training center for Nigerian and African pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, and navigation aid technicians, and it subsequently created a flying school, air traffic services, and communications school, and aeronautical electronics and telecommunications school to meet its objectives
According to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the college is recognized as a Regional Training Centre of Excellence (ICAO RTCE)