At the Crew Commanders/fire fighter initial/Renal course that took place recently at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, MD/CEO of FAAN, Engr. Saleh Dunoma said officers and men of the Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Services of the agency will continue to receive professional training at par will global standards. Training programme He also said they will undergo overseas training programme to enhance their proficiency in firefighting at all Nigerian airports in line with recommendation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). These efforts at training and recruitment will be better appreciated against the backdrop of recent investigations that say that FAAN has 600 fire fighters as opposed to the 1,500 prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO).The shortfall of 900 workers in the critical department has generated concerns in the industry. The current planned concession of some of the airports, which is being driven passionately by the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, will also boost the revenue of FAAN and consequently enhance the ability of the agency to develop manpower. The Managing Director of FAAN, Engr Saleh Dunoma last weekend said the agency has created conducive and attractive business environment in most major airports in the country that will attract investors to partner with FAAN to do business at the airports. Engr Dunoma who made this assertion in Lagos said “It is easy to see why several factors work in our favour. FAAN offers an array of irresistible incentives and doing business with us has become a lot easier. We are investing heavily in the renewal and expansion of infrastructure at our airports with five international buildings nearing completion at Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu airports. Talking about the concession, Sirika said; “We must concession. No going back. I cannot think of any other way. We cannot grow with the present state of our airports .The atmosphere within these airports is not ideal. Today, we have the capacity for 15 million passengers annually and we should within five years have between70 to 100 million passengers annually if the right things are put in place.” The minister listed the four major airports that will be concessioned by the Federal Government to include the Murtala Muhammed Airport, MMA, Lagos, Nnamdi Azikwe Airport,NAA, Abuja, Port Harcourt Airport,PHA, and Mallam Aminu Kano Airport, MAKA, Kano . He said the protest by aviation unions against the planned concession was done due to lack of information and the misconception that these airports would be privatised and sold to private individuals. Sirika added that Nigeria is an important country for air transport in view of her huge market. According to him, “We think we are in the right direction and the decision we have taken to concession the four airports is the right step for the industry and for the country”. Concessioning of these airports, he contended would bring about effective and efficient management of the facilities and that the Federal Government will maintain its ownership. On why the Federal Government must concession airports, the Minister cited Dubai Airports, which according to him have shopping malls, spar and other super markets but lamented that in Nigeria airport terminals, “what passengers see are cigarette and liquor shops. The present government will not allow the terminals to remain like that.” He said reports have shown that 40 per cent of passengers prefer to pass through airport terminals with excellent facilities, adding that duty free in Dubai is about $1.2 billion, a situation not obtainable in Nigeria. Viable airports in the country will enable the aviation agencies carry out more manpower development in the aviation sector as they will have increase revenue from charges and taxes from services they render at the various airports. Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/investing-airport-renewal-minister/ Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/investing-airport-renewal-minister/ Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/investing-airport-renewal-minister/ Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/investing-airport-renewal-minister/ Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/investing-airport-renewal-minister/

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