The Federal Government yesterday dropped hints of closing down Abuja airport as a precautionary measure because of the bad state of the runway.
The Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, who dropped the hint at the 2016 Aviation Stakeholders Summit in Abuja, also said the government would concession the Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano international airports in the first phase of its concession programme.
He said that government was committed to upgrading the existing facilities at the airports as well as developing new strategy for repositioning the sector. Sirika said: “The thinking is that just like every other place in the world, we will concession our airports and we are beginning with the big four, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.
“It would have been ideal to take them to some level of acceptance for them to attract more. But I think we just get those guys who believe that in Nigeria they can create a hub geographically given by God. “To come and put in their money and create this hub, build these airports, concession them, run them and make money out of them.” He said that the current facilities at the airports did not meet international standards and best practices in the aviation industry, adding that private sector involvement was the way forward.
According to him, if the government is able to concession the four airports successfully in the first phase, it will pay attention to providing infrastructure and developing domestic airports for optimal performance.ety-concerns/ Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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We are talking about making life convenient for an average Nigerian and this government is talking about repairing an airport. How many common man would that affect? Instead why not repair our refineries? Deceivers
ReplyDeleteGeneral Lord Iwin, while I feel your pain for the common man, it is also imperative to take into consideration the lives of our fellow men who travel through our airspace. So far so good, we thank God that despite the hardship the country is facing at the moment, it has not been bedeviled with bad news of air mishaps and the like.... Baby steps, we will get there. I still believe in our great country Nigeria.
DeleteHe is speaking for his ministry. The minister of petroleum will address the issue of refinery repair if it is of atmost priority. Every minster has his budget to execute. Please take note.
DeleteThis is a diff ministry which has its own budget allocation.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there is a revenue generation from here and a transportation medium for other business.The life of people are also involved.
So many things happen there that affect everyone that you might not know.
Please read between the lines, he said concessioning and private sector involvement!! Our international airports are eye sore compared to an average airport in USA/Europe. Yeah! Let the big boys/girls pay for the services.
ReplyDelete