Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, Monday, said following the concession of Enugu Airport, Federal Government is preparing to concession more airports across the country, as many of them are currently operating at a loss.
Keyamo also said federal government was making temporary arrangements to accommodate passengers and airlines while the Old Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, undergoes reconstruction.
He stated that while Enugu Airport has been concessioned, Port Harcourt has been approved and the terms of the agreements were being reviewed.
He said this at a programme themed: ‘Federal Government’s Roadmap for Sustainable Air Transport, a Transformative Plan Designed to Strengthen Aviation Safety, Security, and Efficiency Across Nigeria,’ held by the National Orientation Agency, NOA, on X, formerly Twitter.
He said: “For other international airports and other smaller airports, we are running them at a loss. We buy diesel every month, running into billions of Naira for those airports. And in some of the airports, maybe only one flight arrives a day.
“That is why the President has mandated us that any airport not making profit should be given out to private individuals. Enugu is gone.
We have concessioned Enugu. Port Harcourt has been approved. We are in the process of dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s in terms of the agreements we are signing with concessionaires.
“All the other airports are open for concession. All the other smaller airports, they are up. We are calling on international investors and local investors to come and invest.”
On rebuilding the Old Terminal at the MMIA, he said: “We are in the process of making a temporary arrangement as to where we are going to accommodate passengers and the airlines for now while we are rebuilding that whole terminal. This is because you cannot just shut down the whole terminal of an airport. It’s not possible. If it is done, it will cause chaos.”
Leave a Reply