Airport concession, not sale of national assets – FG

The federal government has said the concession of the nation’s airports does not amount to the sale of the national assets.

The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika said this at a webinar on “Nigerian Airport Concession: How Far So Far?” hosted by the Aviation Roundtable (ART) pn Thursday.

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The airports slated for concession include the Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano airports. But Sirika said government realized that the airports remain “national assets” and as such, they cannot be sold.

“In our wisdom, we feel that the assets (airports) belong to 200 million people and they cannot be sold.

However, for it to be improved upon and for the good service to be delivered to people, certainly it has to be that it is given to private hands to improve upon it at a predetermined number of years.”

However, aviation experts and panelists at the session called for transparency and due process in concession process for the airports.

“Concessioning is controversial. Doing it badly is worse than not doing it at all. Transparency is critical in ensuring the success,” said a former Secretary General of African Airlines Association, Mr. Nick Fadugba.

Fadugba also advised that what obtains in other parts of the world should be considered, noting that the government cannot sustain funding for airport development.

President of ART, Dr. Gbenga Olowo, said there should be deliberate plan to make each of the airports to be concessioned a regional hub that can have a mega carrier with about 50 aircraft.

“In Miami, there is a mega player; in Atlanta, there is a mega player, in Chicago, the same thing. I recommend four mega carriers by 2025.”

Director-General of the Infrastructure Regulatory Concession Commission (ICRC), Engr. Chidi Izuwah, said the process has been transparent and that was why it was taking so long.

“From the ICRC, we have insisted on doing the right thing. This is why it is taking so long. We need to do it the right way. Nobody is in a hurry.”

Chairman of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), Dr. Wale Babalakin who has had a long battle with the government on that of Murtala Muhammad Airport terminal 2, said government must be serious about honouring agreements with investors.