Kayode Sesan
The Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has revealed that the Federal Government is planning to privatise the Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano airports.
Amaechi, stated this during a fact-finding tour of facilities and agencies at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Wednesday.
He noted that the essence of the planned concession of the four airports was to guarantee efficiency and good management in view of limited resources at the disposal of the government for infrastructural development in the aviation industry.
The Minister further issued a December 2016 deadline for the completion of the four major international airport terminals under construction in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.
He stated that upon completion, the Lagos airport would handle 15 million passengers annually, while the others would handle additional 15 million passengers to bring the total traffic to 30 million passengers annually.
Amaechi said, “The new terminal in Lagos will generate additional 15 million passengers annually, making a total of 30 million passengers yearly nationwide. The medium and long-term plans will require significant investments to upgrade and expand infrastructure to meet current and future requirements.
“As a result of limited resources for capital project development, the government is exploring the possibility of private sector participation towards the realisation of the industries’ potential.”
The Minister observed that there was need to continue to improve on infrastructure at the airport, regretting that only two of the four conveyor belts in the Lagos airport are working.
He said the government would also enact laws to open up the sector to new investments that would lead to economic prosperity.
__________
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2015 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
