The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, has said only three of Nigeria’s 22 international and domestic airports are profitable.
The
Managing Director of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku disclosed this on Tuesday during a
Channels Television interview.
He
noted that 19 of the nation’s airports were being subsidized as they do not get
passenger traffic commensurate to their operational cost.
According
to her, the majority of the 22 airports managed by FAAN required an upgrade of
critical infrastructure: the terminal areas, the landside as well as the
airside.
The
FAAN boss said many of the runways at the airports in the country have exceeded
the 20-year validity period and were due for an upgrade, noting that the
airport authority would focus on some of those developmental goals this year.
“I
would say that based on the stats today, only three of the 22 airports are
actually profitable and contribute largely to the sustenance of the airport
companies that we run.
“I
would also say that we are cross-subsidizing the other 19 airports today and in
most instances, we will substitute or cross-subsidize for some of the airports
that are coming on board as well,” he said.
Kuku
stressed that the country should concentrate on optimising activities rather
than building new airports.
“Rather
than building new airports, we need to look at the bottom of the value chain to
determine what activities can drive traffic into these airports,” Kuku added.
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