Kenneth Ehigiator and Gabriel Abatan
17 June 2008
Lagos — The Federal Government has given the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) approval to replicate at the International airports in Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt the technology of the new airport automation management system just installed at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.
The government, however, tied the decision to one condition: That of the providers and managers of the system training capable hands to maintain and sustain it.
Minister of State for Air Transport, Mr. Felix Hassan Hyat, gave the approval yesterday at the commissioning of the Lagos airport version of the project, which is designed to make travel seamless for passengers as well as enhance FAAN's revenue generation capacity.
According to him, the new automation system will not only change the face of aviation in the country, but also put the nation in the map of major global aviation nations of the world. "FAAN, it is the beginning. It has to continue; this project, which has brought Nigeria to the future of aviation development, will definitely be taken to the international airports in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano, but if it has to go to the other airports, training is a necessity, because we don't want to take chances.
"I don't want to hear tomorrow that the system is not working because no body understands it," the minister said. He noted that despite the usefulness of the system to the country, petition against it was the very letter he received the very day he was sworn-in as minister.
Hyat said his belief in the fact that the project was revolutionary made him dismiss the flurry of petitions stressing that with the system, FAAN would become self-financing and be able to adequately maintain facilities at airports across the country. He added: "When we travel, because e travel a lot in this country, we come back saying glowing things about what is happening in other countries, but when we want to do the same here, we criticise such. This one will continue because it is a revolution this country must experience." He advised government to stop putting money into capital projects, and allow the private sector to take over, stressing that money put into projects by the government could be diverted to social services and security, since they are very critical to the people's lives.
Hyat said money realised from concessioning of government establishments should be tied to projects of partastatals in the sector the concessioning was hatched. "Let proceeds from concessioning be tied down to projects of parastatals within a particular industry. That was, government does not have to spend one kobo on projects," said Hyat, who thanked the providers, for thinking up the initiative, in collaboration with FAAN.
Managing Director of FAAN, Mr. Richard Aisuebeogun, said the Lagos airport automation system was only the pilot phase, as it would dovetail into the three international airports and other airports in the country subsequently.
Aisuebeogun, who noted that the system held a promise of viability for FAAN, said the agency would now be better placed to maintain airports in the country, which he described as under-utilised and, therefore, not generating enough revenue for their upkeep.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
