Nigeria inches towards new national carrier, approves new roadmap
- FG to hold minority stake in new airline
- Bidders shortlisted, Egypt Air, Ethiopian to set up leasing firm
Arrangements are in top gears to birth a new national carrier for the country as the Federal Government has approved new road map for aviation.
The Minister of Aviation in his verified Twitter handle @hadisirika yesterday said, “The new approved Aviation Roadmap is on course”, adding, “We had investor conference yesterday as promised”.
He disclosed that bidders had been shortlisted, stressing that the remaining part of the road, which includes national carrier and Aerospace University is running with already business cases.
To show the seriousness of floating a national carrier, there are indications that Nigeria may have said picked Egypt Air consortium and Ethiopian Airlines to set up an aviation leasing company as part of a government plan to overhaul the country’s aviation sector.
Sources hinted that the consortium is expected to set up as a private/public partnership run airline as part of move by the government to float a national carrier.
The new company will initially lease aircraft from international lessors and then lease them on to domestic operators. The government has said it will hold a minority stake in the company.
An attempt by the government to float Nigeria Air two years ago failed after government halt the process initiated by the minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.
Last May, the government approved a 47.43 billion naira take-off grant for the airline in the 2029 budget, raising hope that the dream of a national carrier will soon come to pass, but that projects never see the light of the day.
It has been seeking private partners to set up an aircraft leasing company to help domestic and African carriers obtain new planes.
Most airlines in Nigeria want to expand their fleets, but high financing costs and currency risks have hampered growth. Nigerian airlines’ revenues are earned in naira while most of their costs are paid in U.S. dollars.
Nigeria has also said it plans to hand over its airports to private managers as a way to attract investment.
The ministry also said it has short-listed the Egypt Air consortium as well as Ethiopian Airlines to set up an aircraft maintenance facility in Lagos or Abuja.
Although suspended, Sirika had late last year said the Nigeria Air project was still on the roadmap of the Federal Government.
“One aeroplane that comes into the country means 300 jobs. More than that is the catalyst for the economic growth of our country. It also adds to our gross domestic product.”
“What we have done is that we have raised the aviation contribution to GDP from 0.4 to 0.6 (per cent). I believe that in the coming year, we will get to one per cent at least,” he said.
He added, “I do believe that the aviation sector has a lot for Nigerians; it connects people, countries, continents, markets and be that catalyst that is missing to rejuvenate our economy. Having 200 million people in the centre of Africa is a huge advantage.”
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