The federal government Thursday formally signed the concession agreement for the Port Harcourt International Airport, otherwise known as the Obafemi Awolowo International Airport, handing over its management and development to Port Harcourt Airport Company Limited.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo disclosed that the concession is for 30 years, with a performance review every five years under standard ICRC process, noting that the government would continue to earn revenue from the airport under a sharing formula.
The agreement signed in Abuja was in line with the Nigeria government’s policy of bringing private participation into the development and running of airports in the country.
According to the minister, the concession received the blessing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and that the decision was driven by the fact that some airports are being run at a loss, while profits from major gateways like Lagos, Kano and Abuja are ploughed into sustaining them.
He asserted that the country makes so much money from some of its primary airports, “so much money from our major gateways. And then most of those profits are ploughed into running some of the airports that are run at a loss.”
He noted that running an airport from morning to evening requires paying personnel, running diesel generators and many other costs, while government is constrained by funds to expand, especially the non-aeronautical parts of airports which hold huge potential.
“It is also not a knee-jerk decision. This has been on the cards for many, many years. Successive governments just could not cross the line,” he said.
Keyamo hinted that on assumption of office, he met a plethora of court cases involving unions and government over concession, adding that with the guidance of President Tinubu, the government engaged the unions and reached an agreement, as was done with the Enugu Airport, to stave off protests.
He added: “President Tinubu directed that the welfare of workers must be fully protected in the concession process, that no worker should lose his job and conditions of service should remain the same.
“I’m happy to announce to you that everyone is on board,” he said, adding that government signed a preliminary agreement with the unions before the signing ceremony after months of negotiation following FEC approval. He thanked labour leaders for their understanding and cooperation.
On the concessionaire, the minister said Port Harcourt Airport Company Limited was thoroughly vetted by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) for capacity, background, financial muscle and exposure, and found worthy to run the airport to international standard with passenger comfort.
The minister also said concession would remove bureaucratic bottlenecks that hamper growth of critical infrastructure.
Using an example from his experience in government, he said a simple document that would take minutes in the private sector could take two to three weeks in the public sector due to minuting round the table.
“That is, I’m just explaining what bureaucracy means to you. Whereas in the private sector, I would just say, take, go and do this now,” he said.
He noted that private operators are faster, better and more enterprising, and can develop non-aeronautical facilities like conference centres, big supermarkets and malls that generate more revenue than the aeronautical side in many airports.
“There is no country in the world that succeeds without private capital. That’s the statement of fact. And that is what we are doing here today,” he said.
He revealed that before now, no investor came for Port Harcourt and Enugu airports, while everyone swooped on Lagos, Kano and Abuja. He attributed the renewed interest to the positive policies of President Tinubu which have given investors confidence.
Speaking on behalf of the concessionaire, the Group Executive of R28 Holdings, Eyo Asuquo, described the process as long and thorough.
“This has taken a very long process. It’s been a very thorough process. As a representative of R28, this is not our first concession. But this is the most dreamy concession that will be,” he said.
He promised that the standards enjoyed in other parts of the world would be brought to Port Harcourt, assuring that there would be no job losses.
“There shall be no attrition. There will actually be more staff. Because as we develop the airport into a city, there will be need to upscale and employ more people,” Asuquo said.