….lists benefits
….FAAN MD assures efforts are on to resolve controversies surrounding MM2 BOT agreement
The Federal Government is making frantically efforts through the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, to get all stakeholders support in pushing through its airport concession project which is part of the industry’s roadmap.
To this end, the Managing Director, FAAN, Captain Hamish Yadudu met with the members of the Aviation RoundTable Safety Initiative, ARTSI to get their buy in and discuss the recent communique as issued by the aviation pressure group at their just concluded breakfast meeting with the theme: Nigeria’s Airport Concession, How Far, So Far?.
In his opening remarks, the Managing Director/Chief Executive of FAAN, Captain Hamisu Yadudu said he conveyed the meeting in his capacity as the Chairman of the FMA Concession Team, commending ASRTI for its role in the industry’s development over the years.
“I have been in the industry for 20 years. One thing with ART is that you have always kept in touch. You have always been there to offer your advice and interpretations. It is important that we do a good job so that those coming after us will have something to look up to. Aviation belongs to all of us. It does not belong to any individual,” he said.
Speaking on the concession, Yadudu said the long processes of public procurement was a major challenge to the aviation industry because of the speed of response involved in the sector.
He cited one of the benefits of concession as the fact that a Service Level Agreement (SLA) would be signed between FAAN and the concessionaire such that whenever there is an emergency in fixing of a faulty equipment for instance, the concessionaire addresses the issue immediately, to be paid later.”This solves the problems of waiting for long procurement processes.”
He said progressive efforts were already being made to address the controversies surrounding the BOT agreement with Bicourtney Aviation Services, operators of MMA2.
On the ARTSI communiqué’s request for a minimum government involvement in airports management, he noted that minimum involvement was relative as issues such as Aviation Security and Safety would always involve the government as part of its responsibility.
In his presentation, the Technical Assistant to the Minister of Aviation, Mr. Mustapha Junaidu, a staff of the ICRC attached to the Federal Ministry of Aviation, explained that FAAN would make more money and spend less on maintenance when SLA is signed with a concessionaire to cover that. To address the issue of process transparency raised by the communiqué, Junaidu said a Strategic Communication Consultant had been appointed by ICRC to keep stakeholders informed on it activities.
The President of ASRTI, Dr. Gabriel Olowo commended the leadership of FAAN under Capt. Yadudu, noting that “we have not had this kind of engagement over the years because ART was perceived differently, whereas ART’s activities have been in the interest of the industry.”
Government’s positions on each item in the communiqué were jointly evaluated while gray areas were jointly explained by Capt. Yadudu and Junaidu. Junaidu rendered clarifications from the ICRC perspective.
