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Tag: terminal

  • Bi-Courtney to Fed Govt: pay N200b debt for ‘failure to hand over airport terminal’

    Bi-Courtney to Fed Govt: pay N200b debt for ‘failure to hand over airport terminal’

    •MMA2 handles 20m passengers, 400,000 flights in 10 years 

    Airport terminal operator Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) has urged the Federal Government to pay over N200 billion to it for failing to hand over old domestic terminal, otherwise known as General Aviation Terminal (GAT), Lagos.

    Its chairman Dr. Wale Babalakin said the payment  was necessary after BASL was awarded damaged by the Federal High Court to the tune of over N132 billion in 2012.

    He said the amount increased to N200 billion, owing to the revenue the terminal operator would have collected as revenue for flights and other commercial activities at the old domestic terminal.

    Babalakin spoke to reporters at the 10 years’ anniversary of Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), in Lagos.

    He called on government to honour the terms of the concession agreement it signed in 2007, so as not to frustrate more private sector players interested in funding airport infrastructure.

    He said said: “We are seeking the assistance of all and sundry for the payment of the N200 billion owed to Bi-Courtney Airways Services by the Federal Government. As far back as 2012, the Federal High Court awarded damages of N132 billion to Bi-Courtney Airways Limited.

    “Six appeals against the judgment in the Court of Appeal have been dismissed. Even the appeal to the Supreme Court was also dismissed. No nation can truly achieve its potential, if it treats its dynamic citizens this way.

    “We call on the regulatory authorities to honour the concession agreement, which has been approved by every level of government, including the Presidency and confirmed by all the strata of the courts in Nigeria.

    “This is the only way to reward our pioneering efforts .We are grateful to Allah that our eye opening effort that had led to the upgrading of some airports in Nigeria and the decision of the Federal Government to concession airports.”

    Babalakin said his firm welcomes the idea of concessioning, it is done properly and in accordance with the Rule of Law.

    He called on government to assist domestic carriers, which are struggling to keep their operations afloat.

    He said the firm was disposed to plans by government to concession 22 airports, if the process is transparent.

    He said the firm has explored necessary mediation channels to impress it on government to honout its agreement, but the efforts were yet to produce the desired results.

    He said: “In 2008, the former President Musa Umaru Yar’Adua presided over meetings to resolve all issues about MMA2, despite the directive given by the former president, aviation authorities are yet to honour the concession agreement.”

    He said aviation authorities are frustrating efforts by BASL  to begin regional flights from MMA2, despite approval secured since 2007.

    Babalakin said: “We got approval since 2007 to operate regional flights from MMA2, but the relevant authorities are frustrating our efforts. We could trace it to both the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). It is the airlines that are affected, because they burn aviation fuel moving their aircraft from MMA2 to the international terminal. This would not arise if they had allowed us to operate regional flights from MMA2.”

    The Chief Executive Officer of BASL, Captain Jari Williams, said MMA2 processed over four million passengers annually.

    He added that MMA2 is the first privately-funded Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) terminal in Nigeria.

    It was inaugurated in May 2007 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    MMA2 has handled over 20 million passengers, 400,000 flights and created employment opportunities for over 100,000 people in the past 10 years.

    The terminal is home to retail outlets, shops, restaurants and banks offering a wide range of products.

  • Terminal appoints MD

    Terminal appoints MD

    APM Terminals Apapa Limited has named Martin Jacob its Managing Director, effective June 1, 2016.

    Jacob, who takes over from Andrew Dawes, will bring with him extensive experience in the industry spanning 16 years with AP Moller-Maersk Group, including the last five years as the Managing Director of the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), at Onne, Nigeria.

    WACT, which handled 233,000 TEUs in 2015, was named Nigeria’s Best Container Handling and Port Development Company in 2015 at the African Governance and Corporate Leadership awards earlier this year. The award was presented by the Nigerian Institute for Government, Research, Leadership and Technology in recognition of the terminal’s achievements in productivity, investment, innovation and customer service.

    “I am looking forward to my new responsibilities at APM Terminals Apapa, and to working closely with our customers, local and national authorities to continue to achieve success and help facilitate the growth and progress of the Nigerian economy,” Jacob said.

    APM Terminals Apapa, is the largest container facility out of the three serving Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city and commercial nerve center. It is also the largest container terminal operation in West Africa, having doubled container traffic after concession began in 2006, with dramatically improved productivity.

    A $350 million investment and expansion programme was announced for APM Terminals Apapa since 2006. Container throughput in 2015 was 608,000 TEUs.

     

  • Terminal illness

    Terminal illness

    How wonderful it is to die healthy, peaceful, and hopeful; old and spent and fulfilled, at home close to one’s children or grandchildren on a normal day in a happy environment.  Rather than to die beautifully, unfortunately, the best that many hope for is not to suffer too much when dying.

    The news of terminal illness should not always result in depression and despondence.  There are a few famous movies themed around the bucket list. Indeed, a person that is sufficiently well-off and has been told by experts that he or she is going to die by such and such a time can make a list of what he or she wants to do before dying.  If one can still move around or live as normally as possible on palliative care, one can enjoy  this world  as best as possible and do whatever good one can do before one’s soul leaves the mortal body and passes on to meet the Maker.

    Too many people die through terminal illness. Terminal illnesses are generally medically incurable diseases.  Some of them kill slowly.  Some of them kill quickly.  Some of them cause a lot of pain or discomfort.  Some of them are very debilitating.  All of them are very evil.

    You may spend a lot of time thinking of somebody as your enemy, perhaps even wanting to harm that person, perhaps even hunting and hounding him or her.  Forgive your so-called enemy and move on with enjoying your short-enough life.  The worst enemies are not easily known or destructible.  Embarrassing for powerful mankind, they are very insignificant looking (if you can see them), extremely small and formless, yet powerfully destructive to mankind.   These are pathologic viruses, God’s creatures.  Pray that these enemies never reach you.

    Amongst the top incurable or difficult-to-cure diseases leading to terminal illness are those caused by viruses.  Ebola hemorrhagic fever, poliomyelitis, influenza A, HIV/AIDS, and bird flu are viral diseases that easily claim lives. The efficacy of viruses to destroy human life is so potent that, unfortunately, viruses are being studied and developed as biological weapons.

    Other incurable or difficult-to-cure diseases are from spontaneous or progressive genomic, immunological, neurological, or other changes within the body.  Examples are: Lesch-Nyhan disease (a metabolic disorder leading to kidney failure), lupus erythematosus (an autoimmune disorder), Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (a degenerative neurological disorder), diabetes (a metabolic disorder), asthma (a functional disorder), cancer (a functional disorder causing abnormal growth); heart disease; lung disease; kidney disease, or any disease that destroys the structure or function of a vital organ of the body.

    There are about one hundred forms of cancer.  Some, such as pancreatic cancer, can be described as a foretaste of Hell because they are nothing but pain.  One out of 3 persons in developed countries may probably encounter some form of cancer in his or her life time.  The statistics is probably the same in developing countries. The present day apocalyptic statistics of diseases makes us want to “watch and pray” because any one of us could be the next victim, if unprotected.

    The reality of high incidences of these diseases also means that we could probably have a sick person close by: within our homes, amongst our colleagues at work, a neighbor, a relative, a friend, a member of our faith community, an associate, etc.  Let’s not talk about miracles for now because we seem to lack people who are good enough, powerful enough, clean enough, or generous enough to work them these days.   Indeed for any disease, prevention is better than cure and a lifestyle that keeps them away is a path to longevity.

    Some of you are probably already chanting a modern-day litany: “Lung disease, not my portion! Heart disease, not my portion! Kidney disease, not my portion!” Or is it the more potent: “Ebola, back to sender! Bird flu, back to sender! Cancer, back to sender!”  What a prayerful world.

    Let us consider, next, how we could help to support a terminally ill person which some of us do have a probability of doing in our lifetime.

     

    Dr. ‘Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA.   For any comments or questions on this column, please email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 08160944635

  • Row over Kwara cargo terminal

    •ACN urges residents to be vigilant 

    The Kwara State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday described as ‘worrisome but typical of the PDP-led state government’ the revelations on twitter about the non-completion of the Ilorin Cargo Terminal, which was inaugurated as a complete project.

    The party urged the residents to “open their eyes as the Kwara State Government just confirms our worries and suspicions that projects gulping billions of naira of public funds may soon be turned to private property when the governor’s spokesman, Femi Akorede, confirmed on the social media, Twitter, that the government ‘will eventually sell 70 per cent of its stake’ in the Aviation College to some private investors.”

    In a statement in Ilorin, the state capital, ACN Chairman Kayode Olawepo recalled that confusion and anger reigned on Twitter at the weekend after the Information Commissioner, Tunji Moronfoye, contradicted the claims by a pro-Bukola Saraki blogger, Rotimi Ogungbola, that the Ilorin Cargo Terminal was bringing revenue to the government.

    He said Ogungbola had claimed in an opinion article posted on a website, Ilorin.info, entitled: Economic Boost Through cargo Terminal, that the cargo terminal was up and running.

    Ogunmola reportedly added that the Federal Government was eyeing the facility, which he claimed “has offered Kwarans the benefits of secured handling, speed and geographic advantage with low cost of road or ocean container freight which are relatively expensive”.

    The statement reads: “The article, coming a few days after Moronfoye (@TunjiMoronfoye) told some Kwarans on Twitter that the terminal is still under construction and was never inaugurated, saw @kwhistleblower leading other Kwara indigenes to question the claims in Ogungbola’s article, which they dismissed as ‘one of the many lies of Bukola Saraki and his publicists’.

    “Pressured to clear the air on Ogungbola’s article, because of his claims a few days earlier, Moronfoye declared in a tweet on Friday: ‘Oga whistle, can you give this a rest? Is the facility there? Yes. Is it inaugurated? No. Is it operational? No. Go there, work is still on’.

    “Although Moronfoye insisted the project was never inaugurated, Ilorin.info posted a tweet showing President Goodluck Jonathan and Saraki, the former governor, at the official inauguration of the project.

    “Moronfoye’s tweets triggered a flurry of reactions from Kwara indigenes on the social media, with one of them, @omo_baba_kaduna, declaring that “the cargo terminal was one of the many uncompleted projects Bukola Saraki inaugurated before leaving office.” One such project was the recently inaugurated Ilorin Central Mosque, which the former governor inaugurated in the run-up to the April governorship election in 2011.

    “It is unclear why Ogungbola painted the picture of a cargo terminal already running and profitable even when the facility has not been completed, as the information commissioner confirmed, but the Kwara State Government is believed to be pestering the Federal Government to take it over.

    “Asked if there was any sense in government committing public fund into a project it knows was not sustainable or economically viable, Dr Femi Akorede (phemmmy), who is special assistant to Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed on Media and Communications, confirmed the project was conceived with the intention of selling it to the central government to recoup the money spent on it.

    “Akorede’s tweet read: ‘Govt recognised the potential economic benefit of the terminal and built it with the expectation that the Federal Government will take over and refund it.’ In another tweet on Friday, he said: ‘That we are securing Federal Government’s interest in cargo terminal is consistent with the original intention in establishing it.’

    “He was reacting to an earlier tweet from @kwhistleblower that “come to think of it, which business concern will let go or canvass the takeover of its profitable venture? That KWSG wants it taken over says it all.’

    “Femi also provoked further controversy on twitter on Saturday afternoon after he confirmed that the government ‘will eventually sell 70 per cent of its stake (to a private investor) and use the proceeds for development’.

    “Akorede’s tweet followed plans by the government to buy additional 10 aircraft for the Aviation College, minus those Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed claimed the Federal Government promised to buy for the school.”

     

     

     

  • Much ado about a terminal

    Much ado about a terminal

    What does the concession agreement between the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited say about the General Aviation Terminal (GAT)? Does it cede control of the terminal to Bi-Courtney? Bi-Courtney says it does, but FAAN disagrees.Who is telling the truth? KELVIN OSA OKUBOR asks.

    It used to be a random facility. But now the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, can compare with any of its kind in the world.

    When it was being remodelled, airlines moved to the other terminal commonly referred to as mmII. now, they are planning to return to the refurbished GAT over which the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited are squabbling.

    Their quarrel borders on control of GAT.Bi-Courtney is claiming that the ownership of the terminal is covered in the concession agreement it signed with the government some years ago.

    FAAN disagrees, saying Bi-Courtney’s position, is at variance with the terms of the concession agreement.

    On their part, airline operators, workers and passengers, who are fascinated by government’s efforts within a few months to deliver such a world-class remodelled terminal, have expressed concern over what becomes of the facility because of their rift.

    Speaking through its General Manager, Corporate Services, Yakubu Dati, FAAN insists that the agreement the authority signed with Bi –Courtney only covers a 12-year tenure. The arrangement, he said, did not confer the ownership of the GAT on Bi-Courtney.

    Dati  said it became imperative to clear the air over the issues because of the misinformation being fed to the public. The agreement conceived under the (Build, Operate and Transfer BOT) model, may be jeopardised because of the rift, he added.

    He said: “We are constrained to restate that the General Aviation Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, is not included in the Build, Operate and Transfer concession agreement between the company and the Federal Government. The authority is constrained to ask to members of the public, especially aviation stakeholders, to discountenance that often-bandied claim because it is false, misleading and mischievous, to say the least.

    “We observed, with interest, quotations from questionable documents or portions of documents that suits their assertion about the duration of the BOT concession and government’s directive for the so called take-over of the General Aviation Terminal. We consider this unfortunate because Bi-Courtney knows that the only authentic documents on the agreement, limits the duration of the concession to 12 years and that the area of land occupied by the General Aviation Terminal is clearly outside the area of land granted Bi-Courtney for the concession. These facts have been stated for the umpteenth time.”

    Dati said Bi-Courtney was only crying foul because the Federal Government has decided that there should be transparency and fairness in a concession agreements with government agencies. He added that it is convenient for Bi– Courtney to deceive unwary Nigerians into thinking that the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Terminal One (which is named MMA 2, by Bi- Courtney) controversy will discourage private investors in the industry. Ill-motivated, manipulated and unbelievable concession agreements skewed against the interest of the Nigerians cannot stand the test of time, Dati said.

    “No amount of playing to the gallery, twisting the law and facts, or appeal to undue sentiments can change this,” he said.

    He noted that the transformation agenda of the government in the aviation industry, among other things, is geared towards eliminating selfish business models that create personal business empires, and not a level playing field for stakeholders capable of contributing meaningfully to genuine growth of the sector.

    As the feud over the ownership of the GAT heightens, skeletal services have started at the terminal, even as the installations of operational facilities are on-going.

    But, Bi-Courtney,  speaking through its Public Relations Manager, Mr Steve Ajulo Omolale, said FAAN should keep to the terms of the agreement it signed with the firm, insisting that the terms of the agreement gave it control of the GAT.

    He said it was a show of lawlessness, the insistence by FAAN that the tenure of its concession agreement remains 12, and not 36 years, describing the action by FAAN as a disdain to the judiciary.

    Omolale said: “By insisting that the General Aviation Terminal is not Bi-Courtney’s and that our concession tenure of 36 years is now 12 years, despite the court order to that effect, they have further shown how lawless they are, as well as their disdain for the judiciary. They should allow the Supreme Court to hear their appeal over the concession agreement they signed with us instead of putting forward shallow and irrational argument.

    “We are aware of their grand conspiracy to render MMA 2 useless, send over 2,000 Nigerians into the job market, and also render our billions of naira investment in MMA 2 useless, with the building of the General Aviation Terminal. If they so much love Nigerians, they should go and answer the several summons of Nigerians’representatives in the National Assembly to x-ray their Ministry’s activities.

    “For now, the General Aviation Terminal belongs to Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited and will continue to be until they are able to overturn the appellate court’s judgment.”

    The Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, said the government would not allow the interest of businessmen or investors to dwarf the overriding national interest.

    “The GAT belongs to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This terminal does not belong to him; this General Aviation Terminal belongs to FAAN. Nobody, I mean nobody, can hold the entire nation to ransom. We must protect what belongs to all of us. Nobody will usurp what belongs to the people of Nigeria; we will not allow it and we must protect the interest of the nation,” she stressed.

    Also speaking, the Managing Director of FAAN, Mr George Uriesi, explained that in general, the principle that concerns the concession with Bi-Courtney, it has a limitation on the specific plot of land upon which to build a terminal and to operate and transfer it after 12 years.

    He said: “But, in general principle,the concession to Bi- Courtney is a very specific plot of land upon which they have a concession to build a terminal and to operate and transfer it after 12 years. That is what they have, within that concession. It does not prevent us from operating the General Aviation Terminal. The government, absolutely, is not contravening any aspect of the concession agreement.”

    The former Secretary-General of African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Mr Nick Fadugba, cautioned on how concession agreements are delivered in Nigeria, saying that they are not well-packaged to attract investors.

    He said: “Before we sign deals, whether they are concession agreements on airport terminals, including the General Aiation Terminal, we should ensure that they are favour of  Nigeria.  Many deals have been signed that were not properly done including the agreement involving Bi- Courtney.

    “Before we put pen to paper, we must have a solid deal that would be all-beneficiary and all- encompassing. This presents a problem; so I believe the government has to bring the private sector but ensure they make the transactions thoroughly planned or agreed; so it is a win win situation for the government, the country and the private sector.”

    The Head of Research and Strategy, Zenith Travels, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, said until issues on public-private partnership are sorted out as they affects concession agreements, contention over the GAT would continue to pose a distraction to investors.

    Speaking through her Media Assistant, Mr Joe Obi, Oduah said: “Information at our disposal indicates that Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Ltd, the Concessionaire to MM2,  is apparently threatened by the imminent opening of the newly reconstructed and remodelled GAT, Lagos.

    To be sure, the area where GAT is located has never been part of the area concessioned to Bi-Courtney Ltd. The agreement with Bi-courtney has a Survey Plan clearly marked in Square metres and the area of the GAT was never contemplated to be part of the area leased to Bi-Courtney.

    “Nigerians can vividly recall the dilapidated and decrepit state of the nation’s airports,  including GAT prior to the assumption of office of the Minister. Today, 11 airports, including the GAT are an elegant testimony of the desire and determination of the Minister to give Nigerians what they truly deserve-airports of their dreams that compare to any such facility anywhere around the world.

    “It is inconceivable that anyone would not only contemplate, but also  hold fast to the jaundiced belief that a nation as big and great as Nigeria ought not to progress beyond having a terminal like MM2. “

    Mrs Oduah further said: “Regarding allegations that there are subsisting court orders restraining anybody, including FAAN, which is the landlord of Federal airports in Nigeria from further development of the GAT, we need to stress that the cases are still on-going. In fact, our case is before the Supreme Court, challenging the orders being referred   to mainly, but not limited to the fact that in several of these cases, FAAN, as a principal interested party, was never fully represented.

    “Most of the cases and attempts at arbitration were conducted without the full incorporation and participation of FAAN. Those behind Bi-Courtney, relying on their privileged positions and closeness to the corridors of power at the time conspired to leave out FAAN in most of the adjudication and arbitration processes.

    “Perhaps it is pertinent to emphasise that most of the concession and lease agreements in the aviation sector prior to the coming on board of the minister were heavily skewed against national and public interest. The review and cancellations of some of these agreement are, therefore, done in the overriding public and national interest. The interest of an individual investor or corporate entity cannot be allowed to override the public.”

    As FAAN and Bi-Courtney sort out the ownership status of the General Aviation Terminal, airlines, including IRS Airlines, Overland Airways, Medview Airlines and Arik Air, have taken space at the terminal to boost their flight operations.

    Scores of passengers continue to salute the courage of the government in delivering a terminal that could only be compared with what is obtainable in most developed countries.