Airports Concession: Sirika Receives Certificates of Compliance from ICRC
Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika
By Kasim Sumaina
The federal government’s plan to concession its four international airports received a boost on Tuesday as the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, received the Outline Business Case Certificate of Compliance for the concession of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano International Airports from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
Receiving the certificates of compliance from the Director General of the commission, Mr. Chidi Izuwah, in his office, Sirika said that with the certificates of compliance, “we will go-ahead to the Federal Executive Council for approval for the full business of concession to proceed and that will turn the airport terminals to its full potential in private hands as millions of dollars would be pumped into the airports”.
He recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier approved the Aviation Sector Roadmap which the ministry has been following and operating diligently and part of which was airport terminal concession.
Sirika, in a statement issued in Abuja by the Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Aviation, Mr. James Odaudu, commended the ICRC, which through its mandate, has guided the ministry throughout to ensure compliance and value for money, transparency, equity and fairness.
He also expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done by the transaction advisers that culminated into the release of the certificates by the ICRC.
The minister noted that with the full implementation of the airport terminal concession, about 241,700 jobs will be created.
In his remarks, the Director-General of ICRC, Izuwah said the federal government through the Ministry of Aviation has adopted public-private partnership (PPP) as the strategy to leverage on private sector participation and investment in order to achieve the upgrade and development of new terminal infrastructure at the four airports in a cost-effective and value-for-money manner.
He said the airports in Nigeria have great potentials but were currently operating at sub-optimal level due to factors that will have to be improved under the PPP programme.
According to Izuwah, airport terminal concession is one of the critical projects under the aviation sector roadmap of the federal government and fits well within the scope of the ministry’s strategic plan for the sector.
He congratulated the minister, ministry staff and the transaction advisers on the achievements recorded so far, and wished for greater success as the project enters the procurement stage.
