The government of Ogun state has disclosed plans to concession some infrastructure of the aerotropolis of the Gateway International Airport, Remo, Ogun State, after completion.
Speaking in a chat with airport correspondents recently, the manager of the agro cargo Airport, Capt. Dapo Olumide, however, disclosed that three firms have expressed interest to manage the Gateway International Airport, Remo, Ogun State.
He further noted the aerotropolis which is expected to have various international aviation is seeing companies jostle for its concessional operations.
“But, you know, the concession has to be clarified. A lot of people don’t understand what concessioning is. Like when you hear about Lagos being concessioned, Lagos is not being concessioned. The terminal building is being concessioned, not the airport.
The runway will always remain with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).”
“The taxiways will always remain FAAN. But the concession of operations of the terminal building will be concessioned. Same thing here. We are concessioning the infrastructure of the airport. This is slightly different from Lagos in the sense that this is primarily an aerotropolis. And because it is an aerotropolis that makes it more attractive for a concessionaire.”
He further stated that after concession, the concessionaire has the opportunity to build whatever they want on top of what they have seen here in terms of the runway, the master plan, and the business plan.
“So, for example, if any of you wanted to take the concession of this airport, you’d say, I’ve seen it is an aerotropolis. You have a permit for an aerotropolis. That means I can choose what type of hotels. I can put Marriott here. I can put Sheraton here. I can do how many rooms, which side of the airport should it be. I want to build a swimming pool. I want to do this. Whatever you want to do, you can do because it’s an aerotropolis. That is what makes it attractive to a concessionaire beyond just the terminal.”
Olumide equally explained that airports boost revenue significantly because passenger movement is the primary earner for aerodromes in Nigeria but noted that for a place like the Ogun Airport, revenue will not only come from passengers but from cargo and aerotropolis.
“It is not going to be a primary earner from a passenger perspective. It is going to be a primary earner from cargo and the aerotropolis because you know there is a shortage of housing in Nigeria by and large. You know Lagos is expensive because there is no land. So you build housing estates here, residential complexes, and offices. If you have been to aerotropolis in other parts of the world, you see that DHL, Microsoft have offices there and so on.”
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