By Abdul Isah
The Kano state chamber of commerce, industry, mines and agriculture (KACCIMA) has revealed its plan to acquire the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, among the four major airports to be concessioned by the Federal Government.
Solacebase reports that this is coming after the Federal Government announced its decision to concession the four major international airports in the country, the rest being Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos and the Port Harcourt International Airport, in Rivers State.
KACCIMA President Ambassador Usman Darma, hinted this on Monday, at a news conference in Kano.
“The Kano business community has the capacity to acquire the national property, that is why we have decided to organize all the major stakeholders within the aviation sector and the business community to commence the necessary preparations for the takeover, ‘’Ambassador Darma said.
“Last week, we visited one of the patrons of the Kano State Chamber of Commerce, business mogul, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata who has agreed to key into the proposed plan for the Kano business community to own the federal airport in Kano, Darma, also noted that a committee has already been set up to start the planning process.’’
Read Also:VIDEO : Despite evidence, Kano Govt debunks story on governor’s wife anointment in 2023 race
However, concerns were raised regarding the low patronage suffered by the Kano airport more than a decade ago, even by the so-called local business community, who opts for other major airports in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. This raised questions on the capacity of the chamber of commerce to effectively run the airport when acquired.
Responding to the apprehension, Darma explained that “the Kano chamber of commerce KACCIMA is made up of the entirety of the state’s private business entities with very huge capital base, we own the Ado Bayero Mall here in Kano that is worth billions of naira as well as other high-end properties in Kaduna and the federal capital territory Abuja. We will also make partnership arrangements with some international partners to ensure the smooth running of the airport.
According to him, the Kano airport enjoys greater traffic than its counterpart in Porthacourt between the 1980s to the late 90s but its fortunes begin to dwindle because of the infamous policies of the then administration. “We all saw what they have done and how it affected the airport”.
“We have the capacity to not only acquire and manage the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport but all the major airports combined if given the chance. “We will transform the facility, which now is a shadow of its past into something we all will be proud of. Most of the biggest airports across Europe are owned and controlled by private sector players, including for big airports in London, being managed a Nigerian, as a matter of fact.”
Read Also:FG releases qualification requests for 4 airports concession
The President of the state chamber of commerce further explained that though the federal government just issued its guidelines for the concession of the airports, the body is being proactive to avert being late in its desire to take over the airport.
“The business community in the state failed when the Federal Government planned to privatise the then National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), that is why electric tariff is higher in the North than in the Southern part of the country and that is exactly why we immediately launched a plan to avert something like that again.”
