NCAA: SAATM Created 17, 400 Jobs, Increased Contribution to GDP by $128m, Enhanced Consumer Benefits by $93m
The Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu has revealed that since the federal government embraced the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), it has created 17, 400 jobs in the aviation industry, increased aviation contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $128 million and enhanced consumer benefits by $93 million.
SAATM is a flagship project of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, an initiative to create a single unified air transport market in Africa to advance the liberalisation of civil aviation in Africa and act as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration agenda.
The federal government endorsed SAATM and Nigeria fully embraced it at inception.
Nuhu who reeled out the benefits of SAATM to Nigeria, stated in the presentation he made at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) National Aviation Conference (FNAC), which ended yesterday in Abuja that more economic benefits would accrue to Nigeria from SAATM.
According to him, the benefits include the increase in the revenue of Nigerian carrier that embark on regional operations and the movement of goods and services in the African region, which, he said, would over time, increase passenger traffic and cargo movement as trade increases among African countries.
Nuhu at the conference with the theme: ‘Sustainability of the Aviation Industry in Nigeria,’ explained that full adoption of SAATM by all industry professionals would strengthen and position the nation’s aviation sector as key player on the continent, adding that it has immense economic benefits for Nigeria and its investors.
Nigerian airlines had vehemently kicked against its adoption when the new policy was unveiled, for the fear that it would undermine their domestic operations, and would likely give opportunity to other players from Africa to erode Nigeria’s domestic air travel market, but the federal government resisted the operators and adopted it about three years ago and the decision has started yielding results.
“The successful implementation of SAATM is a key driver of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), another flagship project of AU Agenda 2063. Several sectors of the national economy will derive significant benefits from the implementation of AfCFTA thus contributing to economic growth and development. Preserving nature and ensuring resource efficiency, NCAA continues to demonstrate environmental leadership amongst its peers in the region in order to ensure that Nigeria delivers on achieving the ambitious goal of a 50 per cent reduction in net carbon emissions by 2060 through collaboration with all industry stakeholders,” he said.
Nuhu also disclosed that the number of aircraft in the Nigerian registry has climbed to 358 in the last eight years from 175 in 2015, while the country’s airports have increased from just 27 within the same period to 40 at present.
He said that when the outgoing administration came onboard in 2015, there were only 34 Air Transport Licences (ATL), but today, the number has increased to 73. He added that commercial certificates were just 196, but skyrocketed to 320 at the present.