Nigeria’s Aviation Minister Mr Hadi Sirika has said that the government of Nigeria has acquired 12, 000 hectares of Land in Abuja, which is designated a Free Zone for the development of a Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) facility, Terminal building and a second runway for the Nnamdi zikiwe Airport Runway (NAIA) and other massive developmental projects.
Sirika made this known in Abuja yesterday during a press conference jointly held with the Transaction Adviser Nigeria Air, Gabriel Tilmann where he said that in the next few quarters, with developmental plans on ground, aviation will come back on top as the fastest growing sector of Nigeria economy. On 11th January 2021, the Federal Ministry of Aviation announced the Consortium of A J Walters Aviation Limited, EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering (EGME) and Glovesly Pro-Project Limited as the preferred bidder to establish the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Centre.
According to the Ministry, this was subsequent to the evaluation of the proposals submitted by bidders in response to the Request for Proposals for the Aviation Leasing Company (ALC) and the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Centre. It said Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility which will be sited at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, will also run through Public Private Partnership (PPP) using the Build, Operate and Transfer model and will have the capacity to service both Narrow Body (Jet and Turboprop) and Wide Body aircraft.
The Minister while discussing the MRO had said, “The Maintenance Repair and overhaul facility would be cited in Abuja and government has given 12,000 hectares of land in Abuja for the development of Abuja Airport. In that 12,000 hectares of land, which all of it is a free zone, government has designated it a free zone and there will be a MRO facility, there will be a second runway and there would be a new terminal building there and there will be various services of manufacturing, it is going to be a whole airport city around that 12,000 hectares of land.
“The MRO is even faster than the airline, currently the MRO Transaction advisers have given the OBC, they have gone to market, they have found partners and they have found people to do it and it would be going to FEC for final approval, once FEC approves it, we are good to start. The location has been cited and all things have been concluded. The market is big enough for us and it is good for our economy, and I can assure you the next few quarters aviation will come back on top as the fastest growing sector of Nigeria economy.
