FAAN sets March 2022 date for commissioning of new terminal at Lagos airport, as Enugu, Kano airports to follow

Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has disclosed that Lagos New Terminal project has reached 98 per cent completion and will be ready for commissioning before the end of March 2022.

The new terminal at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) is one of the four facilities the Federal Government secured a $500 million loan deal from the Exim Bank of China to build, additional counterpart funding of $100 million was also provided by the Nigerian government.

Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, disclosed this while making a presentation before members of the Joint Committee on Aviation who visited FAAN in continuation of their oversight function at the Conference Hall at the international Wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, weekend

Yadudu also informed that the new terminal at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano is equally ready and that it should be commissioned before the end of Second Quarter 2022.

Also, the FAAN boss said the new terminal at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu, will follow, while also adding that the agency has identified several areas for improving revenue.

He said that the agency will focus on airports that are not breaking even with the aim of making them perform, increase adverts especially on below the line items as steps have been taken to terminate all non performing advert concessions and aggressive debt recovery.

Other areas he said FAAN will focus on to boost its revenue profile includes: intensive marketing of the non-aeronautical revenues, introduction of Pay-As-You go system on some revenue heads especially with difficult customers and enforcement and continuous monitoring of the cashless policy of FAAN.

He also listed further measures to ensure efficiency and cost reduction to include: Blocking all loopholes/leakages and commencement of cashless policy; Implementation of recommendations of the management Committee on Efficiency/Cost reduction with mandate to ensure judicious utilization of government resources and that the committee is working assiduously on the mandate given.

Others, according to him, include: Strict monitoring and evaluation, as well as, the review of policies, procedures and processes to enhance effectiveness and efficiency; and strengthening the internal audit and controls.

Yadudu stated that FAAN had strategically positioned itself to ensure that it has modern and up to date high-tech equipment and facilities that would aid better security, safety and comfort of all stakeholders.

Yadudu, therefore, appealed to the Federal Government to suspend FAAN’s 25 per cent revenue contribution to the Federation Account to enable it provide infrastructure at airports in the country.

The FAAN CEO told the legislators that Nigerian airports needs infrastructural development and that the agency does not have all the money it needed to put all the infrastructure at airports in place as result of the outbreak of COVID -19 pandemic coupled with the huge debts owed the agency by airlines.

He called on the Federal Government to support FAAN to bridge the infrastructure gap at airports across the, country, adding that one of the ways to address this issue is to allow FAAN to suspend it contribution to Federation Account.

He said that it is in line with the International Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS) Doc 9562 on airport revenue generation put forward by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), informing that document provides that revenue generated by airports should be transparently re-invested wholly in operating and developing airport facilities.

“The Industry has infrastructural deficit which has to be bridged. Therefore, Government Support in this area is needed. This can be achieved by suspending the contributions to the Federation Account in compliance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) Doc 9562 on Airport Generation, which provides that: revenue generated by airports should be transparently re-invested wholly in operating and developing airport facilities.”

Yadudu also told the lawmakers that revenue generated in the aviation industry remain low as result of the restriction occasioned by the outbreak of COVID -19.

He, however said that despite the hardship created for the industry the pandemic, FAAN remitted N16.7 billion to the Federation Account in December 2021, as a contribution to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

In his words, “It is worthy to mention that even though FAAN does not have an operating surplus, we had to remit N16.7 billion to the Federation Account as a contribution to the Consolidated Revenue Fund as at the end of December 2021, for the year 2021 alone, in spite of the effect of the pandemic during this period.”