By Cross Udo, Abuja
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved two contracts worth N6.32bn for the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), who disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu, at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that the approvals were for both the main ministry and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
He explained that the first contract, involving technical support services at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, cost N4.1bn, while the second one, sited at the Port Harcourt International Airport, involving the fixing of some navigational equipment, cost N2.23bn.
According to him, “Basically, the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development presented two memos; one from the main ministry and another one from one of its agencies, which is NAMA. The first memo is a Technical Support Services contract with the CCECC, the Chinese company that built the new international wing of our airport in Lagos and of course the other four airports across the country.
“So from the word go, we have struck a deal with the same people who built the place. It’s only natural that they are the same ones who should maintain their facilities for the first five years. That is what this technical support service contract is. For the first five years.
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“We have said that they should maintain their chillers, the air handling units, the passenger boarding bridge, the escalators at the concourse, the remote boarding lifts that were specifically made for the physically challenged, and all those facilities they put there.
“It is for five years, the first five years for a contract sum of N4.1bn, inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT, with a completion period of five years. So it says for the comfort of the traveling public, for Nigerians, and for the enjoyment of the traveling public. So that is the first memo we presented and it was approved by Council.
“The second memo has to do with some navigational equipment at the Port Harcourt International Airport. The equipment is for communication, they call them the VHF FM radios, remote access devices, and other accessories for the wide-area air traffic management system at Port Harcourt.
“So we are purchasing these equipment for Port Harcourt International Airport at the sum of N2,227,721,091, inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT, with a delivery period of nine months and it has been awarded in favour of a company that is the representative of one of the best companies in the world that produce such communication equipment for the aviation sector”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Council has also decided to take another look at the issue of waivers being granted on duties in the country.
