Director of the Asaba International Airport, Mr. Christophe Pennick has said running a private airport in Nigeria is not for the faint-hearted, especially when converting a publicly-run facility into a commercially viable operation.
Speaking at a recent aviation stakeholder forum in Lagos, Mr. Pennick laid bare the challenges that accompanied the transformation of Asaba Airport from a state-run entity to a privately managed facility.
According to him, the first and perhaps most daunting challenge was overhauling a broken system burdened with unqualified personnel and a culture of laxity.
“When we took over, there were 128 government-assigned staff. Only two agreed to stay on under the new management. Many of them came from unrelated ministries, agriculture, transport, even entertainment and barely showed up for work.
“At interviews, they asked us if they actually had to come to work. That was the mindset.
“Running a runway alone is a huge expense, the maintenance, equipment, landscaping, wildlife management, and constant repairs. We charge ₦25,000 per landing, which is about 13 Euros. That alone cannot sustain the cost of operating and maintaining the runway” Pennick stated.
Io keep the airport viable, Asaba invested in advanced infrastructure such as a new Instrument Landing System (ILS), even though Mr. Pennick admits it’s unlikely to recoup the cost over its 15-20 year lifespan.
The Asaba Airport Director, believes the only viable way forward for Nigerian airports is through genuine partnerships not just public-private partnerships in name, but cooperative frameworks where state governments, private investors, and host communities all pull in the same direction.
Read also:
