Govt’s strategic shift from ‘national hangar’ to private sector MROs’

The establishment of comprehensive Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities is widely regarded by Nigerian airlines and industry stakeholders as the most critical single solution to achieving financial stability and operational efficiency in the country’s aviation sector.

The development of MRO facilities is universally described by Nigerian airlines and industry experts as the ultimate “Game Changer” for the country’s aviation sector.

It’s a game-changer because it fundamentally alters the financial and operational structure of the airlines, moving them from a highly dependent, high-cost model to a self-reliant, competitive one.

Huge losses

For many years, Nigerian carriers have suffered hugely because of a dearth of aircraft maintenance facilities called Maintenance, Repair Overhaul (MRO), leading to huge capital flight running into over $200 million annually. That is about the cost Nigerian airlines spend to ferry their airplanes overseas annually to fix their aeroplanes.

At the moment, there is no major aircraft maintenance facility in Nigeria or West Africa. Yes, the Aero Contractors’ hangar is up and running, but it has not scaled up to the level of providing huge maintenance services to many of the airlines in the country.

While Nigeria currently has smaller, existing MRO facilities (like the one operated by Aero Contractors and the one in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State), the country is due for a major, state-of-the-art facility that can handle heavy checks (like C- and D-checks) on larger commercial jets, which would fully address the issues of capital flight and long aircraft downtime.

The MRO facility at Uyo Airport, Akwa Ibom, is the closest to the ideal aircraft repair facility that is capable of helping airlines to limit the cost of their maintenance requirements.

Sadly, the over $150 million facility has not been put to commercial use for nearly 20 years since work started on the project. The facility was built to cater for the maintenance of Boeing 737 aircraft, which is about 70 per cent of commercial aeroplanes by indigenous airline operators, Airbus and Bombardier aircraft.

Had the government completed the project, perhaps it would have saved the country a lot of foreign exchange because most of the airlines prefer to service their aircraft in the country.

For more than three decades, Nigeria had not been able to come up with concrete plans to build what they say would be a national hangar.

National Hangar Nigeria was long overdue for a world-class Maintenance, Repair Overhaul (MRO) facility to serve the domestic and regional maintenance requirements of the aviation industry and provide support for the aircraft leasing business.

An MRO is, no doubt, a critical and very important aviation infrastructure. Historically, the Nigerian government sought to establish a government-owned MRO, but this model has often been criticised by industry experts as being more effective when led by private operators.

While there have been various government-led plans for a “National Hangar Project” or “National MRO Facility” over the past few decades, the current reality shows a strategic shift. The government is now focusing on creating an enabling environment for private sector-led projects rather than building a facility itself.

Previous administrations had sought out investors for a national MRO project via a Build-Operate Transfer (BOT) model under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), but these attempts did not progress to full construction.

The current administration’s policy, aligned with the “Renewed Hope” agenda, is to support local private carriers (like Air Peace and XEJet) to build and operate these facilities, providing them with necessary regulatory and logistical backing.

In essence, the Nigerian National Hangar Project is no longer a single, government-built facility, but a collection of major private-sector-led MROs that the government is actively enabling to achieve the national goal of MRO self-sufficiency.

Nigeria’s flag carrier airline, Air Peace, recently said it is about to build one of the biggest MRO facilities in West Africa. It would be a smart investment if the airline matched its words with action to build what could potentially relieve airlines of the difficulty of taking their aeroplanes overseas for repairs.

The Air Peace facility, in particular, represents the most ambitious step toward full MRO self-sufficiency and is scheduled to be fully operational within the next two years.

To achieve success in the MRO business in Nigeria, there should be a sound business plan and competent management to drive the process. One of the benefits of African MROs is that it would spark off competition for foreign providers, leading to more competitive pricing for African operators.

Such a situation would also enhance time effect, create jobs and training for the local population, while making a substantial contribution to the local economy.

Maintenance costs

For Boeing 737-300, 737- 400, and 737-500, this inspection is conducted after 24,000 flight hours. Boeing 747-400 requires a D-check after 28,000 flight hours, while for Airbus A-330-341, after six years.

Further investigations revealed that, for instance, to carry out a C-check on a B737-300 aircraft outside the country costs between $220,000 and $250,000, while changing a landing gear of the same aircraft brand costs around $80,000.

D-checks cost much more. Nigeria has about 120 aircraft in operations (scheduled, charter and privately owned) that are ferried overseas for major repairs, resulting in ridiculous capital flights. South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Ethiopia have workable Maintenance, Repair Overhaul (MRO) facilities, as well as airports that operate as hubs.

The process of taking aircraft overseas for repairs, according to aircraft engineers, takes a minimum of two weeks with a corresponding loss of about $500,000 (N160 million) for a C-Check on a Boeing 737, while an Embraer 190 or Fokker 100 would cost $300,000 (N110 million) during the same period.

Last line

In summary, MRO is not just a desirable development; it is a structural necessity that moves Nigerian airlines from a financially fragile, foreign-dependent model to a sustainable, operationally robust, and local value-creating enterprise.

MRO is the key that unlocks financial sustainability, operational reliability, and human capital development—the three pillars required for Nigerian airlines to compete effectively on the African and global stages.

Wole Shadare