Fortune Idu is the chairman of Nigeria Aviation Award, (NIGAV), set up to complement F.C.I international passive restructuring of mind-set through encouraging people and organisations to put in their best and improve general industry performance. In this interview with IFEOMA OKEKE-KORIEOCHA, he speaks of the importance of having an airport master plan. He also speaks on some activities lined up for the NIGAV Award 2022.
We have a new terminal at the airport which is not supposed to be built where it is today. This has led to space constraints. As a stakeholder in the aviation industry, how do you think we can still go back to the master plan of the airport and ensure that things work appropriately?
Developing a master plan starts with an ambition or concept of what an airport is supposed to do. If you want an airport to become a regional hub, you have to think about it from the beginning. In preparing a master plan, a lot of forecasts are important. How the people are growing, the kind of commerce that you have, the region that the airport is going to be situated, and the type of transport services that you expect the airlines to carry out.
For instance, we are talking about the single air transport market; which means we are looking at very strong regional competition. So, Nigeria needs to think about which locations will become our air transport hub which has to be tied to the commercial viability of that area. The airport master plan is very crucial to the development of the airport. And an airport master plan should be a living bible for the airport development for at least 25 years.
Which means everyone coming into the industry will know that this is what we are looking at the airport to become at a certain time. But in a situation where we develop airports without a proper master plan as we see in many of the airports; what this means is that we will do the ‘review process.’ It is through the airport development review process that you start to create a master plan for an already existing airport.
You can’t have a situation where there are airports that have developed already and they are almost choked and you review it. What this means is that you review to optimise existing real estate and aeronautics and non-aeronautics areas of the airport. There are airports in Nigeria that have very good potential for redevelopment and enhancement. There are airports already that are choked. In Lagos, we can’t be saying we are developing a master plan from scratch.
In Lagos, we would review the development of the airports’ profile; introduce a new plan and an ambition for it. This new plan will have to integrate all that currently exists. There are things you do to realign them. Sometimes you find out that certain things like buildings will go and in some places, you will have to relocate certain strictures. You have to realign the whole process so that it becomes workable because what you have when you don’t have a plan is clustered development.
A clustered development means sometimes you lose revenue potentials of that environment even up 25 to 50 percent. This is because you cannot optimise. It is easier to optimise when you have a plan. Optimisation comes with upgrades when you have a plan but when you don’t have a plan, you almost have to either destroy or relocate. During this process, there are losses that you incur.
So what happens to existing airports that were built without a master plan?
For existing airports, it is possible to redirect them but this time, it has to be reviewed. This must be an honest and completely independent review. After reviewing, you create a new plan that people can work with.
What is the difference between an aviation master plan and an aviation road map?
Aviation master plan is different from the airport master plan. Aviation master plan deals with the total concept of what you want your aviation industry to be. Aviation master plan is a policy document tied to a lot of things such as international trade, meeting the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements and it is also tied to airport prosperity and your own local needs for air transport services. But the airport master plan is specifically about the airport.
The airport master plan is an airport management operational and investment document. It is not just a policy document. Airport master plan also helps to interpret the policies of the aviation plan as it relates to the airport itself. Everyone can lay their hands on it and know where they belong in the airport master plan. On the aviation roadmap; this is meant to be crafted from an aviation master plan, which is your aviation ambition.
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But in our case, the roadmap was created to help direct development within a specific period of time. I think when the minister came in, he found out there was nothing like an aviation roadmap. He needed something to guide his own vision in delivering his ambition and goals for the aviation sector. I hear the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority is thinking of developing an aviation master plan and that aviation master plan will integrate the roadmap.
What should we expect from the NIGAV Award 2022?
We truly live up to what NIGAV award was set to do, we have set up the Nigeria Aviation (NIGAV) Development Promotion Committee which is a body that helps to direct the selection process of the NIGAV award. The chairman of this year’s committee is Richard Aisuebeogun, the former managing director of FAAN and other members of the committee drawn from the agencies and aviation organisation. The body is purely independent and cannot influence who the award is given to.
The awards will be presented to the winners of the Nigeria Aviation Award and Ministerial Gala Dinner scheduled 4th February 2022, 4pm at NGAV Expo Centre MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos. The event which is to celebrate and appreciate those who have made year 2022 a memorable aviation year has the theme ‘the coming of a new era’.
The theme will help the industry to reflect on the achievement of the past year, present a score card of the industry for 2022 and prepare the players ahead of an exciting year 2023.This award will be conferred on awardees by invited special guests which includes, Babajide Sanwoolu, The Executive Governor of Lagos State, Hon. Nnaji Nnolim, the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Aviation and Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Federal Government.
What is the selection process for the award like?
In the past few years, NIGAV award selection process has continued to improve and add more recipients to the net. This is an award system that truly captures the essence of the industry self-worth and all inclusion. Our ambition is to have award’s that truly reflect the industry performance position and reward the genuine drives for their contribution.
This year’s award selection process and nominations was conducted through an online survey-based mechanism and that meant people will need to vote on earlier nominated positions. Over 1400 votes were registered and selection was public.
