The inability of the Federal Government to yet get credible technical partners and investors to support the proposed new national carrier may have stalled its roll-out plans, 18 months after it was unveiled in London.
But The Guardian learnt that the airline project, though has remained a hard sell to more credible investors, has not been abandoned by the government.
By comparison, similar projects in neighbouring African states are not facing similar hurdles. Ghana, Uganda, and Senegal have attracted investors and made more progress in the re-launch of their national carriers in less than 12 months.
Despite the lull in the national carrier plan since its December 2018 launch was suspended indefinitely, some stakeholders remain optimistic that the project, already christened as ‘Nigeria Air’, will succeed at the completion of its due diligence.
Despite the lull in the national carrier plan since its December 2018 launch was suspended indefinitely, some stakeholders remain optimistic that the project, already christened as ‘Nigeria Air’, will succeed at the completion of its due diligence.
The Federal Government in July 2018 unveiled the name and logo of the proposed carrier at the Farnborough International Public Air show in London, United Kingdom (UK) ahead of the planned initial take-off on December 24 of that year. The lack of budgetary provision, and criticism by the public forced the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, to “temporarily” ditch the December roll-out plan.
A top official at the Ministry of Transport hinted that the project was a work in progress and that the government was still “reaching out to people that matter”.
“Setting up an airline, and a national carrier for that matter, is not like other projects. You need the right partners to bankroll and offer technical backing. You need their commitment before making some moves, especially in this our environment,” the director said.
He said that the project handlers already had interested parties, but “the feeling is that Nigeria deserves a better deal from more credible partners out there.”
“It is not by how quick we can float the airline, because Nigeria is not like other countries (that have made headway with national carrier). Everything is being done with caution and in accordance with rules. There are bills at the National Assembly that will also help the national carrier and other projects.
“With the type of backlash that greeted the London launch in 2018, I doubt if anyone will want to rush anything or put the progress in the public domain,” he said.
The national carrier is intended to replace the defunct Nigeria Airways that ceased operations in 2003. The replacement was designed as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project with the Federal Government likely to own as much as 10 per cent stake. The equity was backed by N47 billion in the 2019 budget to help the airline take off after it reached the procurement stage just before the 2019 general elections.
Aviation consultant and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Beljune Consult, Chris Aligbe, agreed that the process had to be rigorous to ensure that there are no hitches in the operations of the airline.
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