Sirika, while addressing Aviation Stakeholders Forum in Abuja on Monday, said that the government would establish a national carrier that would be private sector driven.
He said that the government would also establish Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in the country, adding that the national carrier would serve as the base for such MRO.
The minister added that the government would create an enabling environment for the setting up of a world class MRO facility that would attract clientele from all over the world, especially Africa.
According to him, the MRO will further be encouraged to start the manufacturing of airplane spare parts with intent to go into manufacturing for long term.
He said that Nigeria had the capacity to become a hub in the African region, pointing out that if Ethiopia and Brazil could manufacture airplane parts, Nigeria could do it effectively.
Sirika said the government was also determined to address the challenges of the aviation sector through the establishment of Aerospace University that would specifically produce the needed workforce for better efficiency.
He also said that the government would also establish an aviation leasing company to solve the problem of access to capital and high cost of funds.
According to him, the company will also address the high debt profile of some airlines, inadequate number of aircraft and high interest rate.
“Aviation being international, a lot of transactions are done in foreign currency, aircraft acquisition, purchasing of spare parts, maintenance and training are all done in foreign currency.
“Domestic carriers sell their tickets in naira but buy their parts in foreign currency and that is why we are working towards making waiver on spare part importation permanent.
“Mr President has also ordered that the waiver in importation of airplane spare parts be continued,’’ he said.
Sirika said the forum was to ensure that the country had a better aviation industry with mutual benefit.
He added that the forum was also aimed at redesigning, redirecting and repositioning the aviation sector for better performance.
According to him, it is the time to take advantage of the market opportunity in Nigeria which is about 600 million people, comprising East and West Africa, which is twice the size of America.
Meanwhile, Sen. Hadi Sirika, also disclosed, Monday, plans by the Federal Government to concession the Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano international airports in the first phase of its concession programme.
Sirika disclosed this at the 2016 Aviation Stakeholders Forum on Monday in Abuja.
“The thinking is that just like every other place in the world, we will concession our airports and we are beginning with the big four, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.
“It would have been ideal to take them to some level of acceptance for them to attract more.
“But I think we just get those guys who believe that in Nigeria they can create a hub geographically given by God.
“To come and put in their money and create this hub, build these airports, concession them, run them and make money out of them.’’
He said that the current facilities at the airports did not meet international standard and best practices in the aviation industry, adding that private sector involvement was the way forward.
According to him, if the government is able to concession the four airports successfully in the first phase, it will pay attention to providing infrastructure and developing domestic airports for optimal performance.
Sirika also said that the state of the Abuja airport runway was a source of concern.
He said government may consider closing down the airport as form of safety precaution.
He said that government was committed to upgrading the existing facilities at the airports as well as developing new strategy to repositioning the sector.
The minister also stated that a comprehensive security check and vulnerability assessment of the airports had been carried out to ensure that airports were properly secured.
According to him, every huge major disaster in the world such as the Pearl Habour attack, Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. among others, are aviation related disasters.
Safety is the main focus in aviation because, the time a passenger rrives airport, when he takes off and land is very important.
“We are developing a new security strategy in partnership with international security organisations and procurement of modern equipments.’’
