The Federal Government, yesterday, closed bidding for four major airports with a plan to announce new concessionaires soon.
Announcing the closure of Request for Qualifications (RfQ) phase of the Nigeria Airport Concessions programme (NACP), the Ministry of Aviation said the phase recorded a large expression of interest from reputable organisations worldwide.
The RFQ stage will be followed with a Request For Proposal (RFP), which shall be published and sent directly to qualified bidders for their response.
The Federal Government recently invited investors to submit bids for the concession of international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.
The RFQ, to run the facilities efficiently and profitably, was opened to firms or consortia with track records in airport terminal management and net worth of N30 billion per bidding firm or consortium. The concession is billed to run for 20 to 30 years tenure in a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model.
Minister of Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika, said the response to the request for pre-qualification by highly reputable international airport operators across the globe is indicative of the level of confidence that people have in the concession programme, and, “by extension, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari”.
“Like we promised from the onset, we remain committed to ensuring the highest level of transparency and accountability till the end of the process. This is because we believe that the programme is in the best interest of Nigerians as a people, and Nigeria as a nation.”
Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, added that qualified bidders shall be announced once the bid opening committee has received, opened and reviewed each submission based on the detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) and RFQ guidelines contained in the RFQ bidders package.
The ministry encouraged all participants, who have responded to the RFQ, to ensure that they continue to refer to the NACP, where all updates and relevant documentation, including updated FAQ can be found.