Nigerian Airlines Bleeding – Babalakin
The Chairman, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), Lagos, Dr. Wale Babalakin has regretted that the failure of the terminal to operate regional flights as entrenched in its agreement with the Federal Government was having adding to the financial challenge to indigenous airlines.
Babalakin also said that the private terminal operator was interested in the concessioning of any of the four international terminals slated for such exercise by the Federal Government. Babalakin told journalists in Lagos, recently that BASL was losing a lot of money because of the refusal of the Federal Government to allow it operate regional flights, adding that the terminal was at present underutilised.
He also regretted that the airlines were losing lots of money by burning fuel to the international wing of the terminal. He said: “Before we talk about our own loss, what are the airlines losing? The airlines are bleeding because of the logistics nightmare of having to move from one terminal to the other just because we want to carry the same traffic.
“We are losing a lot of money because we invested a lot of money in creating regional wing on our platform, but the exact amount we are losing I may not know off hand.”
Babalakin expressed that his company was interested and willing to bid for any of the four terminals slated for concessioning by the Federal Government.
The airports are the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, Aminu Kano International Airport (AKIA), Kano and the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) in Port Harcourt.
The government through the Ministry of Aviation, had in August opened the bidding process for the concession of the terminals, but exempted State governments from participating in the exercise. Babalakin further argued that BASL should be given the right of first offer in the bidding because, maintaining that the company had shown expertise and excelled in infrastructure development.
According to him, BASL had no any known issue with the 36 years of concession agreement with the Federal Government on MMA2, maintaining that the agreement was reached with all the parties involved. He explained that the BASL management had proposed 45 years period on the Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) scheme, but the government’s consultant reduced it to 36 years, which he said was agreed by all parties involved in the agreement.
But, he said the failure of the government to honour its agreement on the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) was a big drawback on the agreement.
Babalakin insisted that by law, the GAT belonged to BASL, stressing that the company had obtained numerous court judgments in its favour on this and the entire agreement, but regretted that the government was reluctant to obey the courts.
“There is a bid going on for the four international terminals. In other climes, the authorities will call on those who have done it before. But, what is the success rate of the companies coming to Nigeria to operate? How can government bring expertise from overseas when you have them locally?
“BASL is interested in anything that is intellectual infrastructure development. I am a lawyer and an infrastructure developer; we are interested in the concession. In fact we should be the first option because in much organised countries, we would be given a first option offer. And may be, our participation will make process a fair one.
“The GAT was handed over to us by the government, but it at the same time, decided to enhance it and compete with us. The worse that can happen to an investor is for your competitor to have government money to compete and it is totally wrong for the authority to be competing in the same sphere. We have won the case at the Arbitration, High Court, Appeal Court and at Supreme, but the authority is not just undermining the whole process; it is also demarketing Nigeria. We have agreed on everything,
