Keyamo, aviation experts on war path over airport renovation

By Dickson Omobola

Federal Government’s decision to approve N712bn for the renovation of the Old Terminal in the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos has come under further scrutiny, with industry analysts saying the government should have opted for a concession arrangement, not direct investment.

The analysts expressed their views to Vanguard as Mr Tunde Moshood, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, questioned what could be done to please them.

Moshood, in a statement titled: ‘MMIA Renovation Bruhaha—What Do Nigerians Really Want?,’ also described them as cafeteria experts who had never built terminals or operated airliners.

Speaking on the backlash that has trailed the development, the minister’s spokesperson stated: “Suddenly, everyone became an infrastructure economist, a seasoned aviation planner, or worse, a self-styled corruption watchdog. But in all of this noise, one crucial question has been ignored: what do Nigerians really want? Is it a modern, world-class international airport that can stand toe-to-toe with global benchmarks or another patchwork job that barely scratches the surface of over four decades of infrastructural decay?”

But Chief Executive Officer of Belujane Konzult and former spokesman for the defunct Nigeria Airways, Mr Chris Aligbe, in a chat with Vanguard, insisted that concessioning would have been better for redeveloping the terminal.

According to Aligbe, the N712 billion could be better invested in other areas, while the concessionaire rebuilds the terminal to world class standards.

He said: “In concessioning, you are not using your money. The concessionaire uses his money and there will be an agreement on the years and other terms. A well-prepared concession will be good for us because the money that we intend to use for this project, no matter where it is coming from, can be invested in other areas. That is how the aviation industry is being run. With concession, there is technical competence.

“It will be sad that after investing such huge funds, government employs management concessions. My advice to government is that it ensures that while rebuilding the terminal, enough investment is made in the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, to train technical people to learn from those managing the airports from which the concept will be taken. Even at that, I believe that to have money for building a world class airport, concession is the way forward, not direct investment.”

Meanwhile, Former commandant of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu, retd, said: “There was Concession, Prioritisation and Commercialisation Act of 2000. It brought Bi-Courntey, which cannot be compared to any domestic terminal in Nigeria today. What is government’s reason for not concessioning passenger terminals?

“Anything that is non-aeronautical is not the business of government. It is a waste. Government obligation is to ensure safety and security for the airports. How much have we put into the airport’s safety and security?”

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