Govt moves to privatise Lagos, Port Harcourt airports, others
By Wole Shadare
THE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has reiterated the Federal Government's bid to turn around the fortunes of the country's airports by privatising them.
The Authority listed airports to be privatised or concessioned as those in Lagos, Calabar, Port Harcourt and Kano.
The Chairman, Board of Directors, FAAN, Chief Ebitimi Banigo, noted that the idea would be pursued with the proper concession of some of the airports and the automation of their facilities to improve on their revenue generation, in accordance with the Federal Government's Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative and vision of making Nigeria one of the top 20 industrialised nations by 2020.
He lamented the poor state of infrastructure at the airports and enjoined the workers to brace up for the challenges of PPP, automation and concession.
Speaking in the company of some other members of the board, Banigo spoke at the maiden meeting with representatives of two industrial unions in the industry, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), in Lagos at the weekend.
The Federal Government has already slated the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos; Mallam Aminu Kano Airport, Kano; Port Harcourt Airport, Omagwa and the Margaret Ekpo Airport, Calabar for concession.
The FAAN chairman, who assured the unions that their members would be carried along in the concession arrangement and the management of the airports, explained that they could, however, meet the evolving global challenges by developing themselves through modern skill acquisition to enable them to compete with their colleagues in the private sector.
His words: "Like the global air transport industry, FAAN is not immune to prevailing challenges. We face growing competition from other airports, particularly in Northern and Southern Africa. We must consider effecting structural changes on some of our airport facilities to handle newer and bigger aircraft being deployed by international and domestic carriers.
"The Open Skies policy, which Nigeria has bought into, has encouraged more international airlines to embrace our growing market. This poses a huge challenge: the challenge of change," he added.
"That is why we are charting a new direction, with renewed vigour. That new direction, we believe, should be embraced by all stakeholders. The direction engenders great opportunities and possibilities. Opportunities to invest, train and build for our today and future. That is why we are open for business and partnership. We remain unflinchingly committed to our vision of being one of the Best Airport Groups in the world in line with Mr. President's Vision 2020.
"We are focused on positioning all our airports, with all stakeholders, for long term, sustainable growth and delivering increased choice and service quality for passengers and all users of our airports," he said.
Meanwhile, the road leading to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja is to be reconstructed, according to Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State.
Fashola, who disclosed this while fielding questions during an interactive session with editors in Lagos, said that the project design was ready.
He said, however, that the State and Federal Governments were yet to resolve some issues, including the management of the road and the relocation of the petroleum tankers which park in the area.
Fashola reiterated the demand for a special status for Lagos, saying it was a question of "common sense" when its foremost economic position and huge population were considered.
On the menace of commercial motorcyclists, Okada in local parlance, Fashola said that it was an economic problem, which could only be stopped by lack of patronage.
"It is not a government problem, it is the people's problem," he said.
