Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba
Two consortia have apparently emerged as favourite bidders for potential concessionaires for the Asaba International Airport, Delta State, which were opened yesterday.
They are FIDMA/MA consortium and AIMS consortium, whose representatives attended the brief ceremony at the state capital to formally open the bids yesterday.
The ceremony was conducted by the Transaction Adviser on the Concessioning of the Asaba airport, HALCROW Infrastructure Nigeria Limited.
The state Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, expressed delight at the commencement of the process, stating that he desired nothing short of international standard airport in the state which would be run efficiently.
Okowa, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Hon. Festus Ovie Agas, said: “We are happy with the interest of various consortia for the Asaba airport concession, and we want to reassure you that the bids will be diligently analysed by the transaction advisers.
“As a government, we are committed to building an effective airport as well as make the Asaba airport a hub with support and cooperation of the private sector. I want to assure you also that Delta State is ready and open for business.”
FIDC/MA Consortium and AIMS Consortium led by Adanwimo Ezeife and Chief Onome Onokpasa respectively, commended the transparency and fairness of the bidding process, stating that they look forward to the announcement of the results of the technical evaluation.
Earlier, Senior Adviser to the governor on policies, Prof. Sylvester Monye, observed that the state government has built a world-class airport and is interested in its effective operation in line with international standards.
Monye noted that “building an airport is one thing, running it effectively is another. What we have done is coming up with the idea of concessioning the airport to take it to the level we want it to be. We want it to be a win-win situation, and decided to fast-track it by considering a model that we believe will work with a master concessionary and sub concessionary.”
