Dele Ogbodo in Abuja
The Minister of State, for Aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika, and the management of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), on Thursday began discussion on the framework for private sector participation in concessioning of the airports.
A statement made available to the media by the Deputy Director of Press, Mr. James Odaudu, in Abuja on behalf of the minister, said the concession was borne out of government’s desire for effective and efficient management of the airports and adequate utilization of the abundant skilled manpower in the aviation sector.
According to Sirika, the best way to go today is the Public Private Partnership (PPP), adding that he will make the system go faster as what will take the sector a long time to do, owing to the paucity of funds in government, will be made easier by the private sector participation.
The minister said that in the wisdom of the government, development of other airports across the nation will be promoted for the purposes of cargo.
This, he said is necessary so that the big airports will not be congested and further said the Government was thinking to build a standard international airport in Lagos and convert the present Murtala Muhammed International Airport to a domestic one.
