By Abel Orukpe, Lagos
Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Eng Saleh Dunoma, has said that the new terminals at Nigeria’s major international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port-Harcourt and Enugu, will make Nigeria the hub of aviation in Africa, when completed in 2016.
Dunoma stated this at the Annual General Assembly Conference and Exhibition of the Airport Council International (ACI) Panama at the weekend.
Speaking as a panelist at the event, Dunoma said the completion of these terminals would stimulate robust traffic growth in passenger and cargo traffic.
According to him, “These airports will improve passenger comfort, increase capacity and improve facilitation.”
He stated that though the 7.2 percent increase for passenger traffic from the MINT countries (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) as contained in the 2014 ACI World Airport Traffic Report, was commendable, but said that the figure would experience a steady rise.
Earlier, the President of Panama, Mr. Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez, welcomed members to the city, highlighting the importance of aviation, which he said, contributes significantly to Panama’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In his welcome address, Joseph Fidanque III, the General Manager, Tacuma International Airport, said the Tacuma Airport was building a new terminal to accommodate growing traffic as the hub of the region.
Also speaking on the theme, “Airports: Shaping Our future” the Chair of ACI World, Hector Navarrette, said that “ACI works across all aspects of the airport business, from our top priorities of safety and security to customer service, training, the environment, knowledge sharing and much more.”
Director General of ACI World, Angela Gittens, said that ACI was enjoying more collaboration than ever with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to ensure that policy decisions were balanced among airports, airlines and air navigation service providers.
ACI accounts for 590 regular members operating in 1,850 airports in 77 countries and its aims to promote the advancement of the collective interests of the world’s airports and the community they serve and promote professional excellence in airport management and operations worldwide.
Source : Independent