Nigeria’s aviation minister, Hadi Sirika, has assured that there will be no job losses after the concession of airports in the country.
He also said that only the terminal parts of the airports would be concessioned, adding that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) would still control the airside.
These were contained in a document titled ‘Nigeria Airport Terminal Concession Strategy’ he presented to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
“Only Terminal concession will be done which will not lead to job losses, FAAN has 8,100 workforces and only 1,158 work in terminal buildings (14.29 percent),” Sirika said.
Furthermore, Sirika said new terminal buildings in Lagos and Kano will come into operations and that more manpower was needed.
READ ALSO: Balarabe Musa is dead
He explained that state airports that would be taken over and which would need manning by FAAN staff include Kebbi, Bauchi, Gombe, Delta and Dutse.
This he said denotes the creation of more jobs rather than loss of jobs.
Explaining further, he said only operational staff working at the four airports terminals to be concessioned will be transferred to the concessionaires.
“The Objective of the Government is to ensure there are no Job losses. Staff transferred will benefit from a better pay package and conditions of service that Private sector companies offer.
“FAAN will negotiate benefits to be paid with the unions before completion of the handover. Traffic will increase as a result of increased efficiency and expansion, costs will reduce due to efficient operations and FAAN will be paid its own share of Passenger Service Charge (PSC) and Security levy directly from International Air Transport Association (IATA),” he added.
Options being considered, according to the minister, are that staff shall have an option to return to FAAN after a period of 18 to 24 months; also staff not required by a concessionaire shall be allowed to return to FAAN after the 18 to 24 month period.
He said benefits of transferred staff shall be paid by FAAN on completion of the 18 to 24 months if the staff decides to stay with a concessionaire
“The Nigerian Airport Concessions will be a Terminal Concession (Passenger & Cargo) and the majority of its revenue will be derived from Non-Aeronautical sources. All other facilities at the airports will still be managed by FAAN. Our airports are national security assets. This must be kept so.
“The Concessionaire(s) will provide the investment required to upgrade the existing terminals, take over the new terminals and maintain them over a period of time to be determined based on financial assessment of each transaction.
“Passenger Service Charge and Security Charge will be shared by FAAN and the Concessionaire(s) and FAAN’s share of the charges shall be paid directly to FAAN by IATA. The concessionaire(s) will sign service level agreements with FAAN and NAMA to ensure that the airport operates efficiently, the service level agreement will cover the Runway, Taxiway, Security and Air Traffic Management,” he added.
He noted that FAAN will be required to provide manpower through AVSEC for the security of both the Airside and Landside, adding that the concessionaire(s) will provide and maintain landside equipment whilst FAAN continues to provide and maintain Airside security equipment.
“All existing concession contracts within the Terminal concession will be transferred to the concessionaire(s) as part of their management obligations and they will be allowed to run for the remaining duration of their respective contracts before any review.
“Tariffs will be regulated in accordance with the procedures set in the concession agreement,” he said.
