Chinedu Eze
There are mixed reaction to the plan by the Lagos State government and Kano State government to take over the management of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport terminal and the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano Terminal respectively in the on-going effort to concession some major airport facilities in the country under the Public Private Partnership (PPP).
It was learn that Lagos and Kano state governments have bided for the terminals and were strongly pushing their bids with the advantage of being the hosts to the two airports.
But many industry stakeholders and experts are sceptical about handing over the two major airport infrastructure to states to manage because many state governments have built airports in the past and were unable to manage them and at different times begged the federal government to hand them over to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Stakeholders also posited that the major objective for the concession of the airport terminals is to ensure effective management, upgrade of the facilities to generate huge revenue and create jobs.
Aviation experts expressed the fear that state governments might not have the needed competences to ensure the objective is realised.
MMIA is the busiest airport in Nigeria, generating 70 per cent of the FAAN’s revenue of N22 billion per annum.
Aminu Kano International Airport is arguably the third busiest airport in Nigeria and the host of Nigeria’s flight information region that links the country to the world in air transport.
The federal government under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration recently approved the concession of major airports in the country and information from the Ministry of Aviation indicated that the federal government is at advanced stage in the concession process.
Principle officer of the upcoming NG Eagle and the former CEO of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, told THISDAY that the desire for Kano and Lagos states to take over the airport facilities under the PPP arrangement is good if they would meet the conditions set out for the concession in addition to having the technical knowledge to effectively manage the airport terminals.
“I can confirm that Kano state government is interested in winning the concession for Kano airport facility. It will be good if it is done under a transparent process. Bidding should be published and due diligence should be followed. The would-be concessionaire must have the funds needed to transform the airport facility and the technical partners. Airport is part of the nation’s security architecture and this should be taken into cognizance in the concessioning of airport facilities.
“We have to also realise that some state governments built airports and were unable to manage them and FAAN had to take them over. Although the state governments could be given the first right of refusal, but they must show capability to manage the airports; what financial and technical know-how are they bringing? Yes, in some countries airports are run by local councils, counties and others, but they must show management and technical capability,” Sanusi said.
On his part, industry security expert and the General Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), Group Captain John Ojikutu told THISDAY that the state government are free to bid for the airports if they have wherewithal and therefore should not be discouraged.
He noted that states, local councils or even cities manage many major airports in the world. He however, warned that bidders must meet the terms of concession before the facilities are given to them.
Also, he counseled that the concession should not be politicised, noting that eyebrows would be raised if Kano government were given the concession and Lagos government is denied.
Ojikutu said that currently the airports are grossly underutilised adding that for their benefits to be maximised they must be concessioned, projecting that Lagos airport alone could generate over N150 billion annually, which is far above the N22 million all the airports are generating currently.
“We cannot get what we want if you want to concession for political reasons. There must be transparency in the concession process and the major objective of the concession is to upgrade the facilities and to earn more revenue. Lagos airport alone can generate over N150 billion annually,” Ojkutu said.
In his view, industry consultant and CEO of Belujane Konsult, Chris Aligbe said that any state government can bid but they must have technical partners with needed competences.
“Investors, including state governments can bid for the airport facilities but they must have technical partners and competences without which the airports cannot be developed. Anybody can win the concession but the winner must have technical partners with sound technical knowledge for the efficient management of the airports.
“It will be interesting if any state government decided to invest, but without technical partners such airport under concession is gone, ”Aligbe said.
