BusinessDay 01 Apr 2018

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20BDSUNDAY C002D5556 Sunday 01 April 2018 Investigation Nigeria’s cargo airports: A tale of shattered dreams IFEOMA OKEKE Continues from page 1 he said had informed his large investment in these items. In fact, he noted that his fresh hope of being an exporter came alive when he heard that there would soon be a cargo airport in the state. “That aspiration to export our produce didn’t just happen,” he quipped with a flash of a smile. “I felt we needed to expand, and when I heard that the Akure airport would now serve as a designated cargo airport, I was glad. You can imagine how it would feel when you have a plan and all things now seem to be working for your good.” Adewale said he contacted his brother in one of the European countries so they could collaborate and his brother was happy with the idea. “So, I knew all was set. I had to increase what we planted so that beyond the local consumption and supplies, we could still export the remaining and with that there would be no loss,” he said. Preparing to kick off his exportation plans, the father of three said during his latest harvest, he took a casual trip to the airport in Akure to make enquiries as to how to export his goods. But on getting there, Adewale’s enthusiasm and hope were soon deflated and reduced to frustration when he found out that all the noise about the readiness of the Akure airport for cargo operations was mere hype. “The news I had heard about the airport was comforting and I felt there was no cause for worry. On getting to the airport, I was confronted by the wary eyes of passers-by and officials of the airport who felt I must have been living in another planet to think all I had heard was true,” he said. When an official at the airport took time to explain to him that Akure airport was not a functional cargo airport as presented by the Federal Government, Adewale Abandoned containers for the Lagos cargo shed Cargoes scattered outside Uyo airport said he felt disappointed and disillusioned by the news, not only because of the sham, but more importantly because his hope of expanding his business had suffered a great setback. Adewale’s experience is a generous reflection of the frustration of many exporters who wish to export their products through non-functional Nigerian cargo airports. To them, it has been tales of stagnation, disappointment and frustration. In a bid to investigate these complaints and frustrations by prospective farmers who, largely, do not have the means to first transport their goods to Lagos to make use of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, I embarked on a visit to five designated airports – Lagos, Uyo, Akure, Port Harcourt and Owerri – to see the infrastructure put in place by the Federal Government to aid cargo services at these airports. Among these five airports, my findings show that only Lagos and Port Harcourt currently import and export cargoes to various countries, while others barely function as passenger airports. Akure’s abandoned cargo shed The first port of call was Akure, South-West Nigeria. The five-hour journey from Lagos was a bit interesting but tiring. It’s been five years since the Federal Government designated Akure as cargo airport, thus, anyone would look forward to see how much things have changed. The serene environment and friendly nature of the Akure people made me feel at home; it was a lot different from the ‘chaotic’ nature of Lagos that I had been used to. Even though it was my first time in the city, people were eager to describe the location of the airport for me as soon as I got out of the car park. To save myself the stress and worry, I embarked on a commercial motorcycle, also known as ‘Okada’ in the local language. We rode to the airport, and that again was fun, as the motorcyclist updated me with happenings in the state. He told me he had never visited the airport because he believed not much was happening there. At the airport gate, I anticipated serious questioning by the airport officials and even security men as to my mission to the airport, but to my surprise and utter amazement, that didn’t happen. We rode in as if we were regular visitors, with no questions asked. That, for me, Signboard for the cargo shed at Akure airport indicated the porous nature of the airport. As we approached the airport terminal, something seemingly unusual caught my attention. I quickly asked the motorcyclist to stop. I disembarked and settled him. There was a signboard by the left side of the pathway, very close to the terminal. On the signboard was written ‘Site for Cargo shed’. A cargo shed is a warehouse where cargoes are processed for export and import. To satisfy my curiosity, I walked into the pathway leading to the actual location of the Cargo shed, only to discover that a foundation for the cargo shed had been abandoned and overtaken by thick bushes. In fact, one had to look more closely to see what had become of the blocks used for the foundation. A few kilometres away from the abandoned project, also by the side of the pathway leading to the new passenger terminal, I saw about 10 containers holding the materials for the construction of a cargo shed. Ongoing construction work at Owerri airport cause they had been abandoned inside the bush for a long time. I also learnt that the containers were recently brought out of the bush and kept just beside the new uncompleted passenger terminal for security agents to keep a close watch over them. Hope seems to be lost for exporters and intended exporters like Adewale in Akure and its environs, as those who could afford it have resorted to travelling all the way to Lagos as the alternate airport to export their produce. On the other hand, those who cannot afford this means are constrained to sell to buyers in their locality and neighbouring towns, and if it is a consumable, they could consume the rest or sell at a much cheaper price to avoid wastage. Akure is an agricultural trade centre for yam, cassava, corn (maize), banana, rice, palm oil, palm kernel, okra, and pumpkins, which are grown by the Ondo people. Although cocoa is by far the most important local commercial crop, cotton, teak, and palm produce are also cultivated Apparently, the containers have remained abandoned five years after the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) allocated a whopping N322,727,000.40 out of the total contract sum of N452,950,176.00 to Lugapego Nig. Limited, the company contracted to build the cargo terminal. A source close to the airport authorities told this writer that recently, security agents became suspicious of the containers befor export. These rich agric produce can be sold out to Europe, Middle East and America in a bid to earn foreign exchange if only the right facilities are provided to aid exportation. But, given the nonfunctionality of the cargo arm of this airport, such potential would remain an investment in doubt. The ideal cargo airport From findings and according to international standards, an ideal cargo airport should have a cargo shed to house cargoes coming in and out of the country; a long and durable runway to accommodate big cargo aircraft; Instrument Landing System (ILS) for night operations, and fire-fighting vehicles. But these are absent in many of the airports. Also, FAAN is expected to provide sufficient airport apron or apron where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refuelled, or boarded; good link roads between the airports and the adjoining arterial roads; screening machines, x-ray machine, quarantine equip-
Sunday 01 April 2018 BDSUNDAY 21 C002D5556 Investigation One of Lagos airport cargo warehouses ment and Explosives Trace Detectors (ETD). Manpower is also compulsory for cargo operations to take off. These include personnel of Immigration, Customs, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), quarantine officers, amongst others. State of infrastructure across cargo airports Akure is, however, not the only airport with abandoned cargo project. Eight other airports designated for cargo have faced the same fate after the Federal Government, through Stella Oduah, the then Aviation Minister, in 2011 released $870 million (N174 billion) for the airport infrastructure renewal project, which included the construction of the cargo terminals. Recall that FAAN five years ago designated 13 airports as perishable cargo airports in a bid to transform the aviation sector into a major revenue earner for the country. FAAN promised to develop with international standard perishable cargo facilities to enhance their operations. “The strategy is to create the much-needed storage infrastructure in view of the large volume involved and to facilitate the evacuation of agricultural produce to domestic markets in conformity with international standards,” Yakubu Dati, the former coordinating general manager, Aviation Parastatals, said. “The development of Economic Free Trade and Export Processing Zones will be targeted alongside cargo airports and agroallied industrial clusters, based on local opportunities and the state’s competitive and comparative An ideal cargo shed managed by NAHCO advantage in agriculture production,” Dati said. Cities prioritised to host perishable cargo terminals are Abuja, Akure, Calabar (Cross River State), Ilorin (Kwara State), Jalingo (Taraba State), Jos (Plateau State), Kano (Kano State), Lagos, Makurdi (Benue State), Minna (Niger State), Owerri (Imo State), Port Harcourt (Rivers State), and Uyo (Akwa Ibom State). The only functional cargo airports today, however, are Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Abuja airports, while development of Owerri cargo airport is at an advanced stage. At these functional cargo airports, cargo infrastructure is solely provided by two ground handling companies, Skyways Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAH- COL) and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, Nahco Aviance (NAHCO). Rather than support these companies and exporters in their efforts to grow exports, findings show that FAAN, Customs and other security agencies overburden them with multiple taxation and excessive rents, while cargo infrastructure suffers across the airports. No cargo shed, ILS at Uyo airport Akwa Ibom Airport in Uyo, the state capital, currently does not have a cargo shed and as such, no government official is assigned to the airport to monitor the cargo inflow or outflow. Few cargoes that manage to pass through the airport are referred to Lagos for processing. This implies that cargoes leaving Uyo airport do not go through the required checks because of the absence of cargo x-ray and screening machines at the airport. The Uyo airport has just one runway and it is not long enough for big cargo aircraft to navigate. The airport also lacks night landing aids for aircraft to take off and land at nights. Poor infrastructure at Port serviceable for two years now. The cargo handlers, therefore, resort to manual search, which slows down the search process and may not be as thorough as expected because fatigue could set in while the officials are at work. This airport also has only one runway. Experts have envisaged that if the runway needs to be maintained, there will be no alternate runway to accommodate flights going in and out of the airport, considering the fact that the airport ranks as one of the busiest airports in Nigeria, after Lagos and Abuja. Lagos airport suffers neglect Lagos airport is the busiest airport in Nigeria and processes over 60 percent of the cargo imported into and exported outside the country. Expectedly, SAHCOL and NAHCO have channelled most of their maintenance efforts and facilities required to facilitate the processing of cargoes to this airport, as almost 70 percent of their revenue is made from the Lagos airport. But as is typical of all the airports, the cargo section also suffers neglect from FAAN. No fewer than 25 iron beam containers have Unservicable screening machine at Port Harcourt airport cargo shed Harcourt airport Port Harcourt International Airport also has its own challenges. Just as the airport continues to rank as one of the worst international airports in the country, so are the facilities at the cargo section of the airport, although SAHCOL and NAHCO, which handle 100 percent of all export and import cargoes going through Nigerian airports, have their presence in the airport and have managed to provide some facilities to aid cargo processing. Port Harcourt Airport, which processes heavy-duty cargoes, mainly oil and gas equipment, lacks the needed infrastructure to facilitate cargo exports and imports. The cargo screening machines provided by FAAN at one of the cargo warehouses have been unbeen abandoned at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos since 2015, while an additional 70 containers imported from China have gone missing. Impeccable sources at the airport told BDSUNDAY that 25 containers of iron beams were ordered by former Aviation Minister Stella Oduah in 2014 for the reconstruction of the hajj and cargo terminals before she was removed from office. But since the containers arrived in 2015, they have been abandoned. Also, the airport, which is rated as the first in the country, remains porous and criminals have repeatedly stolen cargo from the shed. Ground handling staff at the tarmac area of the airport have also been accused of conniving with Customs agents to steal cargo at Cargo shed in Akure, abandoned at foundation level for five years the airport, thereby leading to loss of confidence by importers and exporters and huge loss of revenues to the government. More importantly, the owners of such cargoes are at the receiving end, and their pain is better imagined. The cargo sheds provided by the ground handling companies at Lagos airport are also insufficient to accommodate the daily influx of cargo into the airport. At the import section, cargoes spill over from the cargo shed provided. This is partly because people bring in cargoes from other states, including those with non-functional airports, to the Lagos airport for speedy operation. Work in progress at Owerri airport Although no cargo is currently being processed at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, Imo State, the state government is erecting about eight structures, thrice as big at Lagos cargo terminals, aimed at boosting economic development in the South-East geo-political zone of the country. While some exporters in the region are happy with the development as they anticipate cargo movements from the airport soon, others think the project may become a white elephant when it is completed, considering the low volume of passengers using the airport. Only DanaAir, AirPeace and Arik Air currently operate in and out of the airport daily. Experts in the aviation sector think this small traffic volume does not justify the massive structures being erected at the airport. Other cargo airports There are currently no cargo facilities at Calabar, Ilorin, Jalingo, Jos, Makurdi and Minna airports. As such, there is absence of cargo activities at these airports. BDSUNDAY’s checks show that Paache Construction, which was handling the cargo terminal at Jos airport, received N459,214,790.85 out of the total contract sum of N785,348,493.56. Yet, there is no infrastructure on ground to justify the huge funds released. For the construction of the cargo terminal at Markurdi airport, Paache was paid N613,860,476.67 out of N818,480,635.56, but there is currently no cargo facility on ground at the airport. Challenges of cargo handlers Besides the dilapidated state of infrastructure across cargo airports in Nigeria which makes their job quite challenging, cargo handlers face other challenges as well. One such challenge is excessive rent and leasing charges levied on them by FAAN. A cargo manager told this writer that despite the annual rent paid to FAAN, the agency is still requesting that it pays N1.5 million for apron pass to move its vehicles in and out of the airport. Challenges of exporters Apart from the absence of cargo facilities across airports in the country to aid the export of cargo, exporters have continued to battle with multiple taxes. Jasper Awunor, export coordi- Continues on page 23
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