Concession: Bi-Courtney expresses readiness to bid for airport terminals

Operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2), Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), has indicated interest to bid in the ongoing concession of four major airport terminals by the Federal Government.

Chairman of BASL, Dr. Wale Babalakin, made the disclosure during an interactive session with journalists at the MMA2 terminal in Lagos on Friday.

Four major terminals – Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt airports – are to be concessioned.

Babalakin noted that the company was qualified because it had within its limited resources operated MMA2 for 14 years and had run the terminal well in spite of challenges.

“On the ongoing process to concession four of the major airports, in more organised climes, they will check the track records of those who have done it well.

“In advanced countries they will offer them a right of first refusal before opening the process.

“Hence, BASL has within its limited resources operated MMA2 for 14 years and have run the terminal well despite challenges it has come to face from government,” he said.

Babalakin requested for the success rate of the foreign bidders that had shown interest, asking how far and well it had gone with other foreign concerns who have invested in the country and relocated one way or another.

BASL chairman said only Nigerian bidders who had the capacity should be interested to bid for the terminals.

Babalakin also called on the Federal Government to implement the approval granted it to commence regional operations from its terminal to ease passengers’ burden.

He said airlines were being subjected to incalculable loss and passengers to untold hardships by making them transit from MMA2 to the international to connect flights to the West Coast.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said that as big as its regional facility of the MMA2 terminal was, only about one-third of the place had been put into operation.

He said: “Before we talk about our own loss, what are the airlines losing? The airlines are bleeding because of the logistics nightmare of having to move from one terminal to the other just because we want to carry the same traffic.

“We are losing a lot of money because we invested a lot of money in creating regional wing on our platform but the exact amount we are losing I may not know off hand,” he said.