TomBola
24th Jan 2008, 16:04
6 Nigerian airports are to be privatised in a PPP (Public, Private Partnership) scheme. Talks are presently underway to privatise operations at Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Calabar. For the full story see the article from This Day:
FG Hands over Six Airports to Private Firms
The Federal Government has completed plans to give out six of Nigeria’s major airports to private investors to fully operate and fund their maintenance in a public private partnership arrangement (PPP).
Last night, the mode of handover arrangement was still sketchy, but THISDAY gathered from a top official of a parastatal in the aviation industry that the operational arrangement would not be the same for all the six airports because some are more viable than the others.
The airports include the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos (MMA), the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano (MAKIA) and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Others are Calabar Airport, the Port Harcourt International Airport and the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
A top operator in the industry is said to have indicated interest in taking over the operations of Lagos, Kano and Abuja airports as well as the Skypower Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL), which is billed to be privatised by March this year.
As at press time, the committee responsible for the negotiation on behalf of the Federal Government was still meeting in Abuja to work out conditions for private sector participation.
THISDAY learnt that while the Federal Government is divesting its interest in the airports, some state governments are interested in taking over the operations and funding of the airports in the state capitals.
“The meeting is holding now in Abuja. The arrangement for the take-over and funding will not be the same because some airports have higher profitable ratio than others. The Federal Government is likely going to have some percentage of stakeholding in some that are strategic and some state governments may get involved,” an industry source told THISDAY.
The source explained that the Federal Government and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) decided to hand over the funding and operations of the airports in order to reduce the financial responsibility of managing them by the Authority, noting that the ceding of these airports to private investors would improve their maintenance, “users will have to pay more but services will be better”.
Senior Special Assistant to the President, Capt Shehu Iyal, told THISDAY that although he was not in a position to comment on the development, he was aware that the Federal Government was desirous of the full participation of the private sector in the aviation industry through the public-private partnership arrangement.
The Minister of State, Air Transport, Mr. Felix Hyat, had said last week in Abuja that the only way government could arrest the decay of facilities at the airports was to involve the private sector through PPP and poured encomiums on the Murtala Murtala Airport’s domestic terminal, known as MMA2 built by Bi-Courtney, saying that it was a success story because it was built by a private investor. He noted that government does not have the funds and the attitude to continue to fund and manage the airports effectively.
Some aviation watchers are however critical of the manner in which government is going about handing over the airports to investors.
THISDAY was informed that government had decided who would get the airports as there was no plan for competitive and open bidding by interested parties.
“What is the legal framework for the take-over of the airports? What is the procedure and what will be the fate of the staff? It is likely that many people will lose their jobs. What arrangements are you making for them so that it will not be like the situation of the defunct Nigeria Airways?” the source queried.
Meanwhile, THISDAY has been informed that how the N19.5 billion intervention fund and the money accruing from Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) were spent would form the plank of the meeting of the Senate Committee on Aviation next Monday.
The one-day consultative meeting will aim at proffering ways on how to have safe and smooth operations in the industry.
The meeting will be held at the National Assembly Complex and all the stakeholders in the sector are expected to attend.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Anyim Ude, is expected to preside over the meeting, while Transpor-tation Minister, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, is expected to lead the Minister of State (Air Transport), Hyat, and chief executives of aviation parastatals to the meeting.
The Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Managing Directors, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Director-General, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Rector, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and Managing Director, Skypower Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL) are also expected to attend the meeting.
The Finance Minister, Governor of CBN, Accountant General of the Federation, DG Bureau of Public Enterprises and Managing Director of Nigerian Cargo Handling Company Plc (NAHCo) have also been invited for the meeting.
The Committee is said to have frowned on the huge debt profile of some aviation parastatals and believes that an urgent action should be initiated to arrest the ugly trend before the agencies are crippled.
Available records show that FAAN is being owed over N7 billion. Other issues to be discussed will include: the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) Fund in the Federal Government Accounts; the application of the N19.5 billion Aviation Intervention Fund; additional Schemes/Regulations by NCAA to enhance Air safety and security, compensation to passengers or their dependents (Sosoliso air crash etc) and to fashion out strategy for accessing funds allocated to the aviation parastatals in the 2008 budget.
FG Hands over Six Airports to Private Firms
The Federal Government has completed plans to give out six of Nigeria’s major airports to private investors to fully operate and fund their maintenance in a public private partnership arrangement (PPP).
Last night, the mode of handover arrangement was still sketchy, but THISDAY gathered from a top official of a parastatal in the aviation industry that the operational arrangement would not be the same for all the six airports because some are more viable than the others.
The airports include the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos (MMA), the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano (MAKIA) and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Others are Calabar Airport, the Port Harcourt International Airport and the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
A top operator in the industry is said to have indicated interest in taking over the operations of Lagos, Kano and Abuja airports as well as the Skypower Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL), which is billed to be privatised by March this year.
As at press time, the committee responsible for the negotiation on behalf of the Federal Government was still meeting in Abuja to work out conditions for private sector participation.
THISDAY learnt that while the Federal Government is divesting its interest in the airports, some state governments are interested in taking over the operations and funding of the airports in the state capitals.
“The meeting is holding now in Abuja. The arrangement for the take-over and funding will not be the same because some airports have higher profitable ratio than others. The Federal Government is likely going to have some percentage of stakeholding in some that are strategic and some state governments may get involved,” an industry source told THISDAY.
The source explained that the Federal Government and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) decided to hand over the funding and operations of the airports in order to reduce the financial responsibility of managing them by the Authority, noting that the ceding of these airports to private investors would improve their maintenance, “users will have to pay more but services will be better”.
Senior Special Assistant to the President, Capt Shehu Iyal, told THISDAY that although he was not in a position to comment on the development, he was aware that the Federal Government was desirous of the full participation of the private sector in the aviation industry through the public-private partnership arrangement.
The Minister of State, Air Transport, Mr. Felix Hyat, had said last week in Abuja that the only way government could arrest the decay of facilities at the airports was to involve the private sector through PPP and poured encomiums on the Murtala Murtala Airport’s domestic terminal, known as MMA2 built by Bi-Courtney, saying that it was a success story because it was built by a private investor. He noted that government does not have the funds and the attitude to continue to fund and manage the airports effectively.
Some aviation watchers are however critical of the manner in which government is going about handing over the airports to investors.
THISDAY was informed that government had decided who would get the airports as there was no plan for competitive and open bidding by interested parties.
“What is the legal framework for the take-over of the airports? What is the procedure and what will be the fate of the staff? It is likely that many people will lose their jobs. What arrangements are you making for them so that it will not be like the situation of the defunct Nigeria Airways?” the source queried.
Meanwhile, THISDAY has been informed that how the N19.5 billion intervention fund and the money accruing from Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) were spent would form the plank of the meeting of the Senate Committee on Aviation next Monday.
The one-day consultative meeting will aim at proffering ways on how to have safe and smooth operations in the industry.
The meeting will be held at the National Assembly Complex and all the stakeholders in the sector are expected to attend.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Anyim Ude, is expected to preside over the meeting, while Transpor-tation Minister, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, is expected to lead the Minister of State (Air Transport), Hyat, and chief executives of aviation parastatals to the meeting.
The Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Managing Directors, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Director-General, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Rector, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and Managing Director, Skypower Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL) are also expected to attend the meeting.
The Finance Minister, Governor of CBN, Accountant General of the Federation, DG Bureau of Public Enterprises and Managing Director of Nigerian Cargo Handling Company Plc (NAHCo) have also been invited for the meeting.
The Committee is said to have frowned on the huge debt profile of some aviation parastatals and believes that an urgent action should be initiated to arrest the ugly trend before the agencies are crippled.
Available records show that FAAN is being owed over N7 billion. Other issues to be discussed will include: the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) Fund in the Federal Government Accounts; the application of the N19.5 billion Aviation Intervention Fund; additional Schemes/Regulations by NCAA to enhance Air safety and security, compensation to passengers or their dependents (Sosoliso air crash etc) and to fashion out strategy for accessing funds allocated to the aviation parastatals in the 2008 budget.