Abuja Aviation To Be Made Hub for West Africa

Girma Wake

For its strategic location and virgin land for expansion, industry experts reason that Abuja, instead of Lagos should be developed as a West African aviation hub, writes Chinedu Eze

Former Managing Director of Ethiopian Airlines, Girma Wake said in a recent aviation conference in Addis Ababa that the whole Africa is waiting for Nigeria to get things right in aviation and the first step to achieve this is to develop a hub for West Africa.
He also reasoned that the sub-region needs a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility and the natural place that such facility should be established is in Nigeria.

Over the years, Lagos has been the centre of aviation development in Nigeria. The Murtala Muhammed International Airport located in the mega city is the busiest in West Africa and Lagos generates at least 70 per cent of all the revenues in the aviation industry both to the aviation agencies and the airlines.

Lagos also houses the major aviation parastatals and it remains the choice destination for all international carriers and commands the highest traffic out of the country. From all projections, Lagos would continue to grow economically and its over 18 million population would also continue to grow, so naturally the mega city would continue to be the attractive market for airline operation.

There are some arguments that Lagos is a natural hub for airline operation because it is Nigeria’s commercial city, which is the cusp of the nation’s economy; that as the city with the biggest seaport in the country, it is also natural that it should be airline operational hub.

Ideally, what is expected is that Nigeria should develop the hub and spoke system whereby instead of international airlines flying to all the cities in West and Central Africa and huge costs, they can land in Nigeria where local and sub-regional carriers can airlift the passengers to other destinations in the sub-region. Nigeria commands the highest traffic in the sub-region; it is the largest economy and a country with the continent’s largest population. So the country is the biggest market.

But Nigeria is yet to meet the requisites to become a hub. It lacks the needed airport infrastructure, maintenance organisation, viable airlines with adequate capacity, manpower and favorable policies that would make it an attraction to the world as a major destination.

Nigeria also needs passenger traffic, it has fertile private sector that can deploy and invest funds into profitable ventures, including aviation. Out of the entire countries in West and Central Africa, Nigeria has the potential to develop a hub in the shortest possible time and it has zestful entrepreneurs that can, with the right government policies, develop the aviation industry.

Congestion

However, some industry analysts say that Lagos is already saturated without enough space for expansion. They said Lagos is congested, noting that the existing Murtala Muhammed International Airport has been surrounded by private property, so there is a limit to expansion. On the other hand, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, has all the land, which Lagos lacks.

The Abuja airport is located far away from the city,
although surrounded by hills; it is believed that the airport can take more runways, more terminals and other expansion measures.

During the time of the late President Musa Yar’Adua, the international carrier, Lufthansa had reached agreement with Nigeria to establish a hub in Abuja for its West and Central African operations. There were other juicy attractions attached to that arrangement, which included training, strengthening of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria and the plan to build a second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, which Julius Berger was primed to execute.

But this plan was not realised and according to the German company, Nigeria afterwards refused to show enthusiasm for the plan and did not carry out its own side of the agreement. However, Lufthansa carried on with some aspects of the agreement that favoured it, including abstaining from the payment of charges and operating from three entry points in the country.

Aerotropolis

During the tenure of Stella Oduah as the Minister of Aviation, she introduced aviation master plan. Under that plan is aerotropolis, which is the building of airport city whereby businesses, maintenance facility and other structures would be clustered around the airport. According to Wikipedia, aerotropolis is an urban plan in which the layout, infrastructure and the economy is centred on an airport, existing as an airport city.

Although the aerotropolis project was audaciously planned for more than one city in Nigeria, but many in the industry posit it could only be realized in Abuja because of the expansive land available there. Dr Daniel Tarka who was to drive the plan once told THISDAY what was earmarked in Abuja to realise the project.

“For the Abuja Aerotropolis, we are expecting to have half a million square meters of retail, exhibition, business offices, hotel and entertainment complexes near the airport, including residential complexes where aviation and non-aviation related businesses will synergise for convergence of commercial enterprises,” Tarka said.

Virgin Land

Industry analyst, founder and executive director of Centre for Aviation Safety and Research, Sheri Ayuba Kyari, said Abuja holds greater hope for airport expansion than Lagos where land is limited and there is existing congestion.

“Some of us have had that view that Lagos being a hub will compound the already chaotic situation in the city. We need to have the hub moved to Abuja because of the virgin nature. There is lots of space there, so we can even have three runways. Lagos is reaching its peak so we need to develop other cities. Geographically the location of Abuja ideally makes it a West African hub and there are a lot of over fliers,” Kyari said.

He remarked that if Abuja was designated as hub it would enhance the infrastructural development of the capital city, including the provision of best navigational facilities being deployed because of its hilly nature. On the argument that in the US and other parts of the world hubs are not built in the nation’s capital city. Kyari said there is no rigid rule about that, noting that in the US every major carrier builds its hub, although New York could be seen to be a hub in the US but Houston, Atlanta and others could be termed hubs because United Airlines brings passengers to Houston and from there distribute them to other destinations in US, Canada and South America; the same with Delta Air Lines in Atlanta. He also said that London Heathrow is a hub and London is the capital city of the UK, adding that airlines that didn’t get slot in Heathrow are designated to Gatwick which is also in London.

“So we are totally in a different setting from other countries. The US is already a well-developed nation. They don’t need a flag carrier; we do. Abuja should be a well-developed hub located at the centre of the country. Even if Abuja becomes aviation commercial centre everybody can reach it. Lagos airport is already surrounded by property so it has limited its expansion, but Abuja can even have four runways. And if you develop Abuja as a hub it will reduce the need of multiple designation given to foreign airlines,” Kyari said.

He also remarked that Abuja is landlocked while Lagos has seaport, saying that the city is being chocked because government is not pre-emptive; otherwise government could have established another seaport in Ondo, Eket or Calabar in order to decongest Lagos.

“And now we are trying to do the same thing with aviation; limiting the hub to Lagos will chock it. There is a lot of space in Abuja to build anything you wish to build: maintenance facility, aerotropolis, anything,” Kyari said.

He also remarked that Abuja is the capital of West Africa as the headquarters of ECOWAS and other international organisations, including the missions of many countries, so it will benefit the diplomatic community and also attract many businesses to the capital city.

Also a senior official of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) who is charged with the development of aerotropolis in the agency, Kabir Mohammed, told THISDAY that if Abuja is chosen as hub it would diversify the nation’ economy; it would also improve public interest in Abuja from the core north and north central.

“You will be diversifying the nation’s economy if you use Abuja as a hub. It will also galvanise economic development in the north central and other parts of the north. That is why we want to establish aerotropolis. There should be a second runway and technically the existing runway has expired. There will be increase in traffic so there should be other runways. In Abuja, there is room for expansion because Abuja has more land. Perishable cargo can easily be moved from Abuja because they will be produced from nearby states. With a hub more hotels will be built around the airport but in Lagos there is no space for such”, Mohammed said.

But industry analyst, Olu Fidel Ohunayo stated that picking a city for a hub is usually the prerogative of a major carrier not government; though government prepares the grounds by offering incentives and other facilities, adding that the government of Nigeria's decision would be more political than economic just like they did with the terminal renovation across the country that is incomplete and riddled with debts.

“Building of a hub revolves round a major airline owned by a county private or public. Have they discussed with our operators or has a feasibility study been undertaken by an internationally recognised body to ascertain the appropriateness of this move. I am not excited neither am I dejected but am sure it is more political than economic,” Ohuayo said.

Ohuayo also asked, “How many airlines operate into Abuja? How many terminals, runway etc are there? For airlines applying to fly where is their major operation or frequency? The West Coast is the catchment of the hub policy which city is most suited for neighbouring countries to catch a flight? Why put the cat before the horse? You need strong, viable airlines, supported and protected airlines with the feel that it is owned by Nigerians to run a hub not a big terminal or government wishful thinking alone.

Let us build the airline industry before thinking of a hub,” Ohunayo also said.