Airport Concession: Experts charge FG to prioritize national security, local competent firms in bidding process
By Tobi Adetunji
Experts in the Aviation industry have advised the Federal Government to prioritize the nation’s security in handling the four international airports earmarked for concessioning.
The airports slated for concession are Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, and the Port-Harcourt International Airport.
Making his succinct submission, a retired engineer with the defunct Nigeria Airways, Mustapha Bello, said security and national interest should be the first consideration when handling national assets.
According to him, “Nigeria should not forget the experience of Uganda during the reign of the late General Idi Amin. The Entebbe raid was successfully carried out because the Israelis had the architectural plan of the Uganda Entebbe International Airport in their palm.”
Advising the Federal Government further and underscoring the efficacy of national security, he noted that since there are some Nigerian companies who have successfully operated airports terminals, like Bi-Courtney Aviation Services, who are currently running Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2, MMA2, Lagos, they should be considered first.
Reinforcing the view expressed a CEO who spoke anonymously explained that said, “For obvious reasons, it is necessary for the airports to be concessioned to local firms with track records, merit and competence, rather than foreign companies that you cannot vouch for. Some of the foreign companies being touted don’t even have the required records.”
He noted that, “Bi-Courtney Aviation Services, BASL, has proven to be the best private terminal manager in the last 14 years and so should be supported by government because of its antecedent in terminal management. Luckily I was informed that they also bid for the terminals to be concessioned.
“There is another successful Nigerian whose company is operating at the Gatwick Airport in United Kingdom, UK. Such companies owned by Nigerians should be considered first,” he said.
He however hinted that, some of the foreign bidders in the process had been allegedly creating problems as they have been accused of breaching the process.
It would be recalled that Femi Falana’s Chambers wrote Sirika, alleging that three of the foreign bidders for the four airports to be concessioned violated the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (Est.) Act 2005 and The National Policy on Public-Private Partnership (N4P).
The firm, therefore, called for the disqualification of the three firms from the bidding process to avoid litigation which might derail the exercise. Stakeholders have posited that the Federal Government should deal with indigenous companies whose transparency and competency can be verified easily.
