The local airports are to be taken over to ensure optimum productivity
Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika has said that the federal government is putting everything in place to privatized airports and take over state-owned ones in Nigeria.
The Minister disclosed the plan on Tuesday, June 14 in Abuja, at FAAN National Aviation Conference.
Many airports across the country are operating far below average capacity.
It has been recorded that some airports like the ones in Makurdi, Asaba, Eket, Dutse, Minna, Kebbi , Osubi and Bauchi, hardly have domestic flight passengers in months.
Sirika named the airports to be taken over as Bauchi, Kebbi, Dutse and Gombe airports.
“Nigeria actually has 43 airports, some of which are airstrips where flights take off and land, among these 43 airports, some are federal airports, some are state owned and others are privately owned,” he said.
He added that some other state airports across the nation will be privatized to enhance the efficiency of the airports and for better management.
According to the minister, the government is working on utilizing other components of the aviation roadmap which include the establishment of aircraft leasing companies, aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul investments, national carrier, and airport concession, amongst others.
He said these components are in their advanced stages and will be completed before the end of this current administration.
He asked investors and other stakeholders to take advantage of the many opportunities in the sector, especially with the recently approved 12 hectares of land for implementation of the aviation roadmap by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
