News: FAAN to Create More Jobs After Airport Remodelling

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN (FAAN) has said new business opportunities and employment would be created after the massive reconstruction and upgrade of airport terminals at the 22 federal government owned airports across the country.

Speaking at the 2nd Airport Business Summit and Expo in Abuja on Tuesday, the Managing Director, FAAN, Saleh Dunoma said the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has put in place the necessary commercial offerings, which resulted in renewed interest by investors in the sector.

He said the federal government as the primary investor in Nigeria’s 22 airports is gradually opening doors for genuine private investors to partner and work with it to explore the various opportunities in the sector.

He explained that beyond improving operational efficiency and passenger facilitation, the new terminal facilities when completed would create opportunities for more investments to make the airports more user friendly and offer passengers a whole new travel experience in line with international standards and practices.

The FAAN boss said: “Stakeholders and partners in airport services delivery including the airlines, handling companies, retailers, contractors etc have been aligned with this objectives through periodic training and sensitization seminars to maintain the same customer centric service standards.”

He added that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) )-year passenger growth forecast projects that passenger numbers ate expected to reach 73 billion by 2034 which represented a 4.1 per cent average annual growth in demand for air connectivity

Dunoma stressed that African airports rated amongst the fastest-growing markets would benefit from this growth and thus Nigerian airports are therefore expanding their user handling capacity both in aeronautics and non aeronautics services.

Also, the organizer of the Airport Business Summit, Mr. Fortune Idu said the event presented the aviation industry from the airport perspective and linked it to the development of cities and regional economies.

He added that the summit was a multi-sector summit with -delegates expected to come from industries with direct and indirect dealings with the airport, such as airlines, retail, security, safety, technologists, media, taxi companies, hotels, tourist attraction companies, etc.

“The summit expo will help airports and the cities market their profiles and make them attractive for airlines and investors by showcasing a one stop information portal for; passenger projections, facilities, infrastructure, potentials and essential amenities of fl region that attracts travel and investment”.

Source: Thisday