Delta to earn N100m from Asaba Airport concession yearly
Osubi Airport to reopen in two weeks
DState government has signed off the Asaba Airport facility to concessionaires in a deal that will earn the state, at least, N100 million in concession fee yearly. The strategic move to further develop the airport and make it run profitably ( the first of such concession in the country), will also earn the state 2.5 per cent yearly revenue earnings over the next 30 years that the concession agreement would run.
In a related development, the Osubi Airport in Warri, Delta State, is scheduled to reopen in the next two weeks after months of closure.
At the agreement signing ceremony between Delta State government and Asaba Airport Company Limited in Asaba on Tuesday, the State governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, said the concession was motivated by the desire to have the critical facility developed into a full international air travel destination and profit- oriented asset for the host state.
“Considering the cost alone, no state government can run an airport the way it should function to bring the maximum benefit to the people. So, we have decided to follow this route. I want the Delta people to know that this concession and the signing ceremony with the concessionaires today are in the best interest of the Delta people, and I hope that other States with state- owned airports will follow suit,”
Okowa said.
The previous administration built the facility and opened operations in 2008. It was, however, in 2015 downgraded by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA) over dilapidated infrastructure and poor maintenance culture. Okowa, on the assumption of office, embarked on the facility upgrade, including the construction of a new runway, Instrument landing system and field lighting to have the airport return to 24hour operations in 2019.
The governor, yesterday, said while the upgrading was in progress, the State had since 2015, begun the transparent processes to bring in the private sector to take up the facility and transform it into a regional hub. He said following a rigorous bidding process, the state settled for a consortium of concessionaire operators/ investors “with the technical and financial capabilities to redevelop, finance, design, operate, maintain and manage the Asaba International Airport for the benefit of Deltans”.
Okowa added that following his engagement with aviation agencies at Osubi Airport, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN) had agreed to reopen the facility to flight operations. Though a private facility, he pledged to support the airport in the area of COVID- 19 protocol for early resumption.