NAHCO free trade zone to attract $500m investment in five years

The establishment of Free Trade Zone (FTZ) at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, by the National Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc would attract nothing less than $500 million investment to the nation’s economy within five years, Suleiman Yahyah, chairman of the company, has said.

Speaking at the national executive council meeting of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) in Ijebu Ode, Yahyah said when the FTZ is fully operational, it would create employment opportunities for a number of Nigerians and the economy would also feel the impact of the operation of the FTZ.

The nahco aviance chairman, who reiterated the importance of making Lagos the aviation hub in the West Africa sub-region, added that failure to do so would be devastating in the next few years.

He explained that both Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire are making progress towards developing their aviation infrastructure, saying that soon, any of these may be designated the West African hub.

The implication of such designation is that Nigerians, in the future, may need to fly to Dakar or Abidjan to sleep over before boarding a flight to a major European capital.

He noted that to develop the aviation sector in Nigeria to meet up with world standard, Nigeria needs to invest a minimum of $10 billion. According to him, an airport which Nigeria should designate as a hub should be able to handle about 25 million passengers annually.

While applauding the unique advantages of Lagos as a commercial capital which connects to major world capitals in five to six hours, Yahyah pointed out that there is also the need to develop the soft infrastructure of the aviation sector.

He emphasised the need for the development of the human capital resource of the aviation industry while warning that “we should not jeopardise our Category 1 status.”

He commended the maturity of ATSSSAN in tackling issues in the sector, adding that the aviation industry cannot survive a strike especially at this time when the security infrastructure of the country is undergoing severe stress.
Benjamin Okewu, national president of ATSSSAN, said that while the supervising minister of aviation may be doing a yeoman’s job, the industry needs the full attention of a substantive aviation minister.

According to him, “Our members are presently disturbed and agitated by the plan of the Federal Government to merge three agencies of the Ministry of Aviation: NCAA, NAMA and NIMET. As we have profusely stated in our various public engagements in the media, petitions and appeals to pertinent authorities, this proposed merger grossly violates the principles, letters and spirits of standards as prescribed by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conventions and protocols.

“It is logical to perceive that if a regulatory agency like NCAA and a service provider body like NAMA are bundled into a single organisation, the aviation industry would most likely become a bedlam.”