Buhari seeks fast track of airports concession, N20b second runway for Abuja

• Foreign airlines blocked funds hit $$283m
• Newly commissioned terminal, four others for concession Q4 2022
• Sirika lists ills of aviation, lauds aviation sector growth

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika to fast track the airport concession programme; an indication that four of the major four aerodromes in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port-Harcourt could be handed to new owners any time from now.

In particular, the airport concession project (including the newly commissioned terminals) has reached an advanced stage.

The Ministry of Aviation said it would issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to the shortlisted firms before the end of March, saying it expected to announce a partner in the second quarter of 2022 and handover by the fourth quarter of 2022.

This is coming as Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika pleaded with Buhari to prevail on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release $$283m of foreign airlines’ blocked funds.

Buhari made the disclosure on Tuesday while commissioning the newly built international terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

This terminal has the capacity to process 14 million passengers per annum. There are 66. check-in counters, five. baggage collection carousels, 16. Immigration desks at arrival, 28 desks at departure, eight. security screening points, six-passenger boarding bridges with remote boarding and arrival.

Other facilities include two. food courts, four. premium lounges, 22. guest rooms and Spars, 16, airline ticketing offices, visa on arrival and port health facility, praying areas, more than 3,000sqm duty-free spaces, and over 5,000sqm let-table utility spaces.

Similarly, the President disclosed that the Abuja second runway is being fast-tracked, just as he stated that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning had equally been directed to source special funding for the project while the Minister, Federal Capital Territory is to conclude the titling of the approved 12,000 hectares of land to accommodate the runway and other developmental projects

The Federal Government through the Ministry of Avia­tion had in 2021 proposed to expend N20 billion on the con­struction of a second runway for Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, thereby increasing it by N6 billion within a year.

Buhari expressed appreciation to the Government and People of the Republic of China, through the China Export-Import Bank and CCECC Nigeria Limited, for their commitment and support towards the completion of the infrastructure.

He further stated that his government’s continuous investment in the building of long-lasting infrastructure in the aviation, road and rail transportation, agriculture, telecommunications, and other critical sectors was yielding massive results, stressing that the people of Nigeria are now increasingly attesting to benefiting from the associated dividends.

His words, “This event is an eloquent testimony to the strong commitment of our administration to the development of world-class infrastructure across all  sectors of the Nigerian economy.”

“Our continuous investment in the building of long-lasting infrastructure in the aviation, road and rail transportation, agriculture, telecommunications, and other critical sectors is yielding massive results, and the people of Nigeria are now increasingly attesting to benefiting from the associated dividends”.

He reiterated that starting from the year 2015 when his administration commenced its first tenure in office as a government, they have been deliberate and consistent in identifying and investing in critical projects that would improve the standard of living of the people, as well as contribute immensely to our growth and development as a nation.

Bearing in mind the importance of airport infrastructure as a catalyst for economic growth, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and development globally, he noted that his administration decided to prioritize the completion and delivery of five brand new international terminals, which he said were at 11% completion level when we came into power in 2015.

“This aligns perfectly with our Aviation Roadmap, which was developed in 2016, for the purposes of establishing critical infrastructure, including a National Carrier, Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul Centre and improved Airports Terminals through concession, to boost aviation practice and take the industry to the next level, reflecting global standards”, he added.

Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika said the overall goal is to grow the aviation sector’s contribution from the current 0.6 % to 5 % ( approximately $ 14.166 billion ).

In the same vein, he said IATA projects the air transport market in Nigeria is forecast under the ” current trends ” scenario to grow by 174 % in the next 20 years.

This, to him, would result in an additional 9.4 billion passenger journeys by 2037, adding that if met, this increased demand would support approximately $ 4.7 billion of GDP and almost 555,700 jobs

“Mr. President, when this Government came into power in 2015, the aviation industry was faced with major challenges, some of which was unemployment of professionals, scarcity of Foreign Exchange, budgetary constraint, sustainability of waiver on Aircraft and spares, decaying/aging infrastructure and obsolete equipment, poor and intolerable conditions of airport facilities and equipment, as well as blocked airline funds, to mention a few”, Sirika said.

“Consequently, the aviation roadmap was developed and graciously approved by Mr. President on the 18th October 2016, which includes: National Carrier, Airport Concession, Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul Center ( MRO), Aviation Leasing Company, Agro-Allied Cargo terminals, as well as Aerospace University.

“The roadmap projects are being undertaken through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and the Ministry has been working very closely with Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (CRC) to ensure we have a credible and transparent process”.

The Minister recalled that in 2015, the total passenger figure was about eight million, stressing that with the implementation of some aspects of the roadmap, the passenger figure grew to about 18 million in 2019, making aviation the fastest growing sector of the national economy pre-COVID-19 pandemic.

He further stated that the aviation business suffers from the issue of access to foreign exchange by local and foreign airlines and the ability to repatriate blocked funds and to prioritize access to forex for all carriers both local and foreign. and to work out a mechanism to clear the existing backlog urgently and prevent subsequent build-up.

Wole Shadare