The Nigerian government has appointed a committee of six consultants to advise it on proposed investments in the West African state's aviation sector including the establishment of a new national airline.
The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as stating that of the six firms, Lufthansa Consulting/TN Aero FGE had been awarded the contract to advise on the establishment of a national airline; Arrow the contract to advise on the establishment of a leasing company as well as a separate contract concerning an MRO; Infrata Dantens the contract to advise on the concessioning of airports; and JEBB the contract to advise on aerotropolises and agro-cargo terminals.
A total of N1.524 billion naira (USD4.9 million) has been set aside for their services, Sirika added.
The move comes as Nigeria's two largest privately-owned carriers - Arik Air (W3, Lagos) and Aero Contractors (N2, Lagos) - have been put under government control owing to excessive debt overhangs and operational inconsistencies.
Aside from addressing the lack of reliable air service operators, Muhammadu Buhari's government is also looking to reduce Nigeria's reliance on international service providers - airlines, lessors and MRO providers in particular - given the foreign currency crunch the country is currently experiencing. According to the ch-aviation capacity module, Arik Air and Med-View Airline (Kano) account for just 8.81% of Nigeria's weekly international seat capacity.
