FG Hands Over Enugu Airport To Aero Alliance, Extols Mbah

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…Concession Opens New Economic Opportunities To S/East — Mbah

ENUGU – The Federal Government has officially handed over the Aka­nu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, to the concession­aires, Aero Alliance Limited, un­der a public-private partnership arrangement.

Following the execution of the handover certificates, assets register, and other relevant doc­umentation, Aero Alliance will now undertake the financing, rehabilitation, expansion, oper­ation, and management of the airport, ensuring that it meets and sustains internationally recognised standards of safety, efficiency, and passenger expe­rience.

This was even as Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State de­scribed the successful concession of the airport as a major break­through and opener of new economic opportunities for the South East, while Aero Alliance vowed to transform AIIA into one of Africa’s leading regional aviation, logistics, and commer­cial hubs.

Speaking during the hando­ver ceremony at the internation­al terminal of AIIA, Enugu, on Thursday, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), extolled President Bola Tinubu’s and Mbah’s roles in the realisation of the long-stalled concession plan.

“For 20 years, various govern­ments have tried to concession some of our airports because of the belief that the private sector would run them more profession­ally and in a more commercially driven way.

“During the time of the previous administration when almost all the airports were ad­vertised for concession, all the bidders avoided Enugu and Port Harcourt airports. There was not one bidder for Enugu and Port Harcourt. Everybody was rushing Lagos, Kano, and Abuja because many people want food that is ready.

“However, under the able lead­ership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and under the visionary leadership of people like Dr. Peter Mbah, the reverse is the case.

“Guess what? We have no bid­der presently for Lagos, Abuja, and Kano. But Enugu and Port Harcourt are gone.

“Dr. Mbah went straight to Mr. President a few weeks after his inauguration and said, ‘This is my plan for the airport.’ The pres­ident minuted and said that we should give him all the assistance he needs to turn Enugu into an aviation and investment hub.

“Mbah started with Enugu Air, and now he has brought in capital, brought in investors for the airport.

“So, I just want to say that Dr. Peter Mbah came with a plan for Enugu. He did not come and begin to assess the situation. He is a governor who came into of­fice with a plan. And today, we are glad that we have found in him the perfect partnership we need between the federal and the state governments,” Keya­mo said.

On what is expected of Aero Alliance, he said, “We expect Aero Alliance Limited to dis­charge its responsibilities with the highest standards of profes­sionalism, transparency, opera­tional excellence, and commit­ment to safety.”

He also allayed fears over job losses, noting that the terms of agreement reached by Aero Al­liance were such that they would create new jobs rather than trig­ger job losses.

In his remark, the Direc­tor-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commis­sion (ICRC), Dr. Jobson Ewalefor, thanked President Tinubu for making the concession happen, describing it as historic and spe­cial for Nigeria.

He commended Mbah’s com­mitment to building infrastruc­ture, extolling his international credibility and tenacity.

“That we are here today is be­cause of the reputation of the gov­ernor. His reputation attracted the capital. Governor Peter Mbah is a miraculous governor. He has been coming to Abuja all the time for this. You can see when someone is prepared. You can see that he is very strategic and methodical in what he is doing.

“The Enugu Air and an agree­ment being signed from Guang­zhou to Enugu are enough traf­fic to create viability,” Ewelefoh noted.

Meanwhile, Governor Mbah lauded the Tinubu administra­tion for the successful conces­sion, saying that it marked the beginning of a new chapter in the journey to unlock the immense economic potential of the South East region.

“It opens a new chapter of economic possibilities be­cause businesses across our region have for long grappled with logistics constraints that increased costs, lengthened delivery timelines, and limited competitiveness.”