Industry Stakeholders Reinforce Call for Airport Concession

Stakeholders in the aviation sector have insisted that concession of the airport infrastructure may be the only option to drive growth and for Nigeria to have world standard facility.

The stakeholders said since the last 40 years that the international terminal of the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMIA) Lagos was built, there has not been any remarkable improvement in the airport facilities, remarking that the government has shown that it lacks the vision, discipline and funds to build modern airport infrastructure as obtained in other parts of the world.

Speaking during the annual colloquium organised by the NigeriaTravelsmart.com in Lagos on Thursday, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Nnaji Nnolim, said privatisation reduces the need for public sector investment; provides access to larger commercial sectors, and allows airports to diversify services without the fear of government control and interference.

 

He said in theory, “this may lead to increased operational efficiency, as well as create new paid incentives for management and employees.”

Nnolim said available statistics indicated that more than 50 per cent of European airports have some forms of private ownership, with the percentage increasing significantly since 2011.

He noted that consortiums of private companies that established themselves as airport managers now own most airports in Europe.

According to the lawmaker, "Many countries are seeking to replicate this model/success. In May, Japan invited the private sector to submit proposals for the operation and management of seven airports under a 30 to 35-year concession. The country’s transport ministry is attempting to leverage on the private sector to promote tourism in the Hokkaido region.

"Elsewhere, Brazil is planning to shut down its National Airports Authority, and sell its 54 airports to private companies. It kicked off the ambitious programme last year, raising $D889.08million through an auction of concessions for four airports."

Nnolim added that sadly in Nigeria, the story has been one experiment with too many challenges.

He added: "Examining the first experiment we had in this sector, which was the build, operate and transfer (BOT) arrangement which the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) entered with Bi-Courtney Aviation Services at Murtala Mohammed Airport local terminal (MM2), it was been riddled with controversies leading to many court cases."

Industry consultant and CEO of Belujane Konsult, Chris Aligbe, said at the event that concession is the only option for Nigeria to develop airport infrastructure, stating that those who oppose concession should stop thinking about their personal interest but the ability of the government to provide jobs for their citizens.

 

“Concession is very important because if we don’t concession, we will not have world standard airports in our country. But the concession must be done transparently. Those who oppose it as workers or union members should think about this. If I work in a company for 25 years, the government does not owe me a job, it owes my children jobs. What government owes me is my entitlement. To create jobs for my children, the private sector should be allowed to expand airport infrastructure-operate them profitably to create more jobs,” Aligbe said.

However, the technical board member of Arik Air and Aero Contractors, Mohammed Magashi, said development of airports is still very new to the private sector, stressing that it is the responsibility of the government to develop the airports until they get to a level when they could be given out in concession.

"I see no economics behind concessioning all the airports in Nigeria, especially the unviable ones because private sector wants to make money from it. The government is responsible for airport infrastructures and it is only when these things are developed that it can change hands," he added.