. Authorises $4.7b Ondo, Snake Island, Burutu ports development, others
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday, approved the concession of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and the Mallam Aminu Kano international airport in Kano.
The decision to concession the airports for 20 and 30 years respectively, form part of the 30 memos considered by the Council during the presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja.
The Council also authorised several other projects including the development of the Ondo Multipurpose Port in Ilaje, Ondo State; expansion and development of the Snake Island Sea Port, Lagos; the expansion and development of Burutu Sea Port, Delta State as well as a double circuit transmission line for Kwara, and a host of others
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who briefed journalists alongside his other colleagues at the end of the meeting, also said FEC approved the immediate change of name for the ministry to Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace of Nigeria.
The minister said: “The concession fees or an upfront fee for Abuja is $7 million, while $1.5 million will be given for Kano. The fixed concession fee is $401.2 million for Abuja, and the fixed fees for Kano is $21 million.
“The variable costs concession fee is $154 million for Abuja, and $26.9 million for Kano. Tax $111.2 million for Abuja and $42.7 million for Kano. The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) supervision fee for Abuja is $16.4 million, and $5.3 million for Kano.
“So, the total amount of money that is accruing to the government is $700 million for Abuja and then $97.4 million for Kano.”
He added that these fees are different from the direct fees the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) will continue to earn from passenger service charges, which is projected to be $4 billion (N1.84 trillion).
In a statement afterwards, Sirika disclosed that the Corporacion American Airport Consortium won the bids for the concession of the two airports.
The statement explained that after a thorough and comprehensive evaluation process that commenced with the Request for Qualification (RFQ) advertised in both local and international media on August 16, 2021, and subsequent rigorous evaluation of technical and financial bids, coupled with due diligence visits conducted from December 27 – 29, 2022, and January 9 – 10, 2023, the Corporacion American Airport Consortium emerged as the preferred bidder.
The consortium, reputed for its superior technical expertise in the design, construction, management and operation of infrastructures, includes the Corporation American Airports, Mota Engil Africa, and Mota Engil Nigeria.
Sirika said the Council also approved the draft National Civil Aviation policy, geared towards the strengthening of civil aviation.
The total amount of money that is accruing to the government is $700 million for Abuja and then $97.4 million for Kano.
Other approvals
The Minister of State, Transportation Ademola Adegoroye, informed that the Council approved the development of the Ondo Multipurpose Port in Ilaje, the expansion and development of the Snake Island Sea Port, Lagos, and the expansion and development of the Burutu Sea Port, Delta State, through a Public Private Partnership agreement worth over $4.713billion.
In a breakdown, Adegoroye said the Ondo Port will cost the private developers the sum of $1,480,465,253, and would be offered for concession for a period of 50 years with the accruals to the concessionaire and the federal government expected to be $50 billion and $2.6billion, respectively.
He said the Burutu Port will cost $1,285,005,818; also open to concession for 40 years with the concessionaire and the federal government expected to reap $125billion and $9 billion, respectively.
The Snake Island Port will gulp $974,185,203 and is billed for 45 years concession under an $18billion and $5.23billion accruals to the concessionaire and the federal government, respectively.
On his part, the Minister of State for Power, Jerry Agba, said, FEC approved two memos for his Ministry — the award of a contract for the procurement of 25 numbers of 33 KV circuit breakers and 120 numbers of surge arresters for systems use for Transition Company of Nigeria (TCN), worth about N140 million.
“The contracts have been awarded before; they are ongoing, but we asked for approval for revaluation due to price escalation and additional works. We’re building new substations in one of the places,” he said.
He added that the Council also approved the variation due to price escalation for the construction of the Dukanbo Shonga 132 KV double circuit transmission line in Kwara State.
Agba explained: “The Shonga line has been down for several years. So with this procurement, we should be able to revamp the station. You know it is in an agro-based area that’s the area which services the Bacita Farm, the Shonga Farms Limited, and the whole of that area has been in darkness for a long time.
“With this procurement, we hope that in two months, we should have full power supply to those areas and restore farming and processing activities in that area. The cost is N1.5 billion.”
