The Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, has said that the nation’s aviation roadmap offers significant opportunities for investment both to public and private investors.
Speaking during the just-concluded Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) National Aviation Conference FNAC in Abuja, Sirika revealed that the Federal Capital Territory Administration has offered 12,000 hectares of land for aviation development within the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, stating there are also significant opportunities for investment in several airports across the nation.
“The aviation roadmap of the Federal Government they implemented under the leadership of the honourable minister of aviation offers significant opportunities for investment and so many projects, although these projects are being initiated by the government it is going to give the public and private sector an excellent investment opportunity.
“We all know the resetting effort of the COVID-19 Pandemic. As an industry we are beginning to recover, then we have fuel crises, the rising cost of JetA1 and other logistics costs that have affected and negatively imparted the recovery of global seal irritation industry,” he said.
Represented by the director-general of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu, Sirika noted that with every challenge comes opportunities. He urged the private sector to come up and invest in the development of these airports.
“For us here in Nigeria, the COVID- 19 has shown us some gaps we have, so it allowed us to come up with solutions to, this solution can bring fantastic investment opportunities not only in FAAN but to the entire aviation ecosystem in Nigeria both public and private. There are other organisations such as the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and others that offer significant opportunities for investment.
“We are looking at regulations to unbundle the regulation to make it easier for people to invest in all areas, especially in the general aviation which has a significant sector so that people will be encouraged to invest,” he added.
In his remarks, the director, Directorate for Commercial and Business Development (DCBD), Sadiku Rafindadi revealed that the Nigerian aviation sector is strategically positioned to take advantage of the expected growth in the African market due to its proximity to Europe, the Middle East and the rest of Africa.
Rafindadi pointed out that the Nigerian aviation market is huge but untapped. He added that plans are underway to fully tap potential and harness the available opportunities within the 21 airports managed by FAAN.
