
By Alex C
The establishment of a Free Trading Zone (FTZ) at Murtala Muhammed Airport Lagos, Nigeria’s busiest airport, is projected to boost the nation’s economy with about $500 million investments expected over the next five years, Mallam Suleiman Yahyah, Chairman, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (Nacho Aviance) Plc said.
Yahyah stated that the FTZ, when fully operational, would create jobs and boost Nigeria’s economy. He pointed out that the significance of making Lagos a regional aviation hub, noting that failure to make this happen would be retrogressive for the nation’s aviation industry.
Both Ivory Coast and Senegal are making progress in the development of their aviation infrastructure. However, if Nigeria does not buckle up, any of the two West African countries may edge out Nigeria as the sub-region’s aviation hub.
Industry experts believe that an investment of $10 billion is needed in Nigeria’s aviation sector in order to attain global standards. This investment is needed as infrastructural development and development of human capital are critical in ensuring the industry maintains its Category 1 status.
Analysts regards Nigeria’s aviation industry as the fastest growing in Africa, citing the delivery of more aircrafts to the country than South Africa as one of the bases for their assertion.
“Growth has been driven predominantly by the oil and gas industry. However, other sectors including finance, manufacturing, telecoms and agriculture are all contributing to a market which is set to grow by 20 per cent this year,” said Managing Director/Chief Executive EAN Aviation, Mr. Segun Demuren at an aviation conference recently.
It is expected that commencement of operations at the FTZ will contribute to this growth and serve as boost to Nigeria’s economy, already Africa’s largest.
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