FG To Retain Waivers On Aircraft Spare Parts Import

The Federal
Government says it will continue with the policy of granting of duty waivers on imported aircraft and spare parts, so as to support the industry.
The Minister of State for aviation, Hadi Sirika, who disclosed this during a stakeholders forum in Abuja pointed out that government was well aware of financing difficulties faced by Nigerian airlines in the leasing of aircraft.
“They have limited access to capital, even then, at high interest rates of about 27 per cent currently. They are also faced with inadequate number of aircraft, while they have high debt profile.
“The government intends to set up an aircraft leasing company to assist these Nigerians, to have better access to leased aircraft for their operations,” Sirika said.
While noting the success of the Ministry of Transportation in the areas of aviation, the minister noted that Nigeria passed the recent International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) security audit, of the country’s airport in flying colours with a score of 96 per cent.
According to him, the aviation industry similarly passed the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit, of the country, reflecting the enormous hardwork and expertise of Nigerian aviation authorities.
“The Buhari administration had been able to provide bomb containment vessels at the Malam Aminu Kano International airport Kano and at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
The administration has also installed solar powered field lighting systems at 10 airports across the country, including Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Akure and Enugu and in addition, air traffic control tower operations at the Malam Aminu Kano Airport have been automated, allowing for more efficient services”, he said.
He promised that the Nigerian aviation industry would soon have a masterplan in place which, according to him, will be built into the National Integrated Infrastructure Master plan.