Industry
stakeholders on Wednesday berated the federal government for what they
described as “wrong-headed policies, lack of vision and
self-centredness”, which they said have been responsible for the
retrogression of the aviation industry over the years.
The stakeholders including airline
operators, airport managers, analysts, pilots, engineers and others
accused government of being responsible for non-establishment of
Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility anywhere in the country.
They noted that the lack of MRO facility
in the country is a major setback which is partly responsible for the
high demand of foreign exchange in the industry, lack of developed
technical manpower and the inability for Nigeria to carry out C-checks
and D-checks (aircraft maintenance) locally.
Source THISDAY
Specifically, the Chief Executive Officer
of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), Capt Jari Williams
said ferrying aircraft overseas for mandatory maintenance encourages
capital flight and berated government for its lack of policy that would
encourage local establishment of such facility in the country.
Williams noted that for any organisation
to establish a viable MRO in the country, the federal government must
give the initiator subvention, tax waivers, pioneer status and Free
Trade Zone (FTZ).
He stated this while speaking on the
topic titled, “First Class Maintenance Facility MRO for Nigeria: How
Viable” at Aviation Round Table Safety Initiative quarter three
breakfast meeting held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The BASL CEO recalled that when he was
the Managing Director of Akwa Ibom International Airport (AKIA), he
tried for six years to attract investors to develop and put on stream
the Uyo Airport MRO but there was no favourable policy that would
provide traction for investors to put their money into the facility.
He remarked that a new idea or project
might not succeed if the initiator does not belong to a particular
group, stressing that this should not be if the aviation industry must
move forward.
He hinted that Aero Contractors would have established an MRO because of the experience gathered over the years for providing services in the oil and gas industry.
Williams said government’s complacence
could discourage any investment in the country and noted that lack of
commitment by government to the MRO facility in Uyo is one of the
reasons why the project has remained uncompleted.
He added that while the Uyo MRO was under
construction, a survey was carried on the number of Boeing airplanes in
West Africa sub-region and it was discovered that the area has a lot of
737 aircraft.
The Akwa Ibom government he said invested
huge amount of money in Uyo MRO but regretted that despite the
investment and efforts made, the facility has not been completed.
According to him, “Government has no MRO
policy, even the Federal Ministry of Aviation will come, inspect the
facility and nothing happens and the Uyo MRO is there wasting away”
The BASL boss argued that for MRO to be
in place in Nigeria, the federal government, the state where the
facility is located and airlines must buy into it, adding that anything
outside that Nigeria would just be going in circles.
On his part, the President of Aviation
Round Table Safety Initiative, Mr Gbenga Olowo accused aviation
stakeholders of singing discordant tunes, stressing that these tunes
often times does not bring about growth.
He lamented that these tunes are based on
parochial and personal gains, adding that the aviation industry is sick
and that it was going beyond remedy.
Olowo said that though MRO is good for
the industry to stop capital flight but the management, viability
domestically, regionally and internationally must be discussed by the
stakeholders.
He remarked that one of the challenges of
MRO is who is going to finance the project and if international
airlines would be willing to maintain their airplanes in Nigeria when
the MRO is eventually set up.
Olowo said that Dollar scarcity, which is
affecting airlines, 6,000 travel agencies in the country is a major
issue that should be discussed by stakeholders and addressed by the
federal government.
However, the federal government has said
that it will not be involved in the establishment of Maintenance Repair
Overhaul (MRO) planned by stakeholders in the industry.
The Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, who was represented by the Director of Operations and Training, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA),Capt. Abdulahi Sidi ,said that the government would only provide conducive environment for the project to thrive .
“Federal Government will not get involved
in the setting up of MRO but will provide conducive environment for
stakeholders to build the facility and for it to thrive,” Sidi said.
