Airports Concession to be Completed in Q2, 2022-Sirika

The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has said that the process for the concession of Nigeria’s four major international airports will be completed in the second quarter, (Q2) of the year 2022.

Sirika also disclosed that the requests for proposal on the establishment of a national carrier would be out on Monday.

The Minister disclosed this when he received the Executive Committee members of the Abuja Transport and Aviation Correspondents Association in his office in Abuja.

Sirika said that the government has been making efforts to concession Nigeria’s major international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.

He explained that the transaction advisers for the concession have finished the Outline Business Case and had got the Request for Qualification, adding that they have pre-qualified the people and have been issued Request for Proposal.

In his words: “They’ve turned the proposals in and we are analysing them to announce the successful bidders and this will be soon. Our timetable is for the first quarter of this year.”

He assured that all the identified airports will be concessioned, adding that many airports have been established since the current administration took over government in 2015.

According to him, “there are more airports today than when we came in 2015. There are Anambra and Lafia airports; there is Ekiti airport which is going on; Makurdi airport, going on; Yobe airport, Ebonyi airport and many other airports.

“We have about 12 new airports added since we came and this is growth. And we have the same in other aspects of the sectors, as more runways are being added; more capacities for the airports are being delivered.”

Sirika posited that the government was diligently implementing the key components of the aviation sector roadmap, stressing that before the end of the term of Mr. President; these things will be achieved and realised.

The minister stated that there are plans to begin the issuance of requests for proposal to intending investors for the establishment of the national carrier on March 8, 2022.