By Steve Omolale
As MMA2 marks its 19th anniversary today, May 7, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of the iconic Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), will roll out the drums and blow the trumpets in celebration of the 19th anniversary of the landmark terminal.
While BASL deserves to celebrate itself with pomp and colours, MMA2 deserves to be celebrated in grandeur. Reason being that all the controversial issues surrounding the concession of the state-of-the-art terminal have just been finally resolved. So, this year’s anniversary is quite unique in a way, as it coincides with the resolution of those lingering issues that had distracted the attention of Bi-Courtney for almost two decades.
Expectedly, not a few will agree that BASL has totally changed the face of aviation in the last 18 years of its operation of MMA2. It is a kind of revolution in the industry.
Despite the shenanigans of those who were up in arms with the aviation infrastructure firm over the concession of the multiple award-winning terminal, the unparalleled and patriotic commitment, the volume of zeal, the humongous amount of money and the losses incurred in an attempt to place Nigeria as an aviation hub, particularly in the West African sub-region, are the reasons MMA2 still stands solid till date.
The terminal is a personal sacrifice of one man: billionaire businessman and erudite lawyer, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), who is the Group Chairman of The Resort Group, the parent company of BASL. He is the reason Nigerians and foreigners alike have been having seamless travelling experience through MMA2 in the last 18 years. He is the reason the terminal is being celebrated yearly. He is the reason all the issues plaguing the MMA2 concession have just been resolved.
The resolution was confirmed in Abuja by no other person than the Hon. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), when he said, “I can happily tell you that this government has resolved that issue (concession) once and for all. Council today (last Thursday) approved the terms of the agreement we reached with Babalakin to settle all the vexed issues surrounding that airport.”
Dr. Babalakin’s painful, but patriotic sacrifices are what is sustaining the edifice till date. The commitment and dedication of members of staff, who are well taken care of with prompt payment of salaries and allowances, timely remittances of pension deductions and good general welfare, are also what is sustaining the terminal.
As BASL prepares to celebrate MMA2’s 19th anniversary and despite all the personal losses he had incurred in his spirited attempts to keep the facility running, Dr. Babalakin has just made another huge sacrifice to demonstrate his patriotism by writing off a N132 billion judgement debt owed him by the Federal Government for the past 18 years. Keyamo also confirmed this, when he told journalists, “… “He wrote it off”.
The businessman did not only write off the huge debt, he also agreed to hand back to the Federal Government the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, which the original concession covered.
Former Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, had flagrantly taken over the GAT and renovated it years back, thereby denying BASL that part of the concession.
Babalakin also agreed to the removal of the exclusivity clause in the concession. This is to allow the development of other airport facilities in Lagos. These are enormous sacrifices. It is a deep demonstration of patriotism, selflessness and magnanimity.
And in return, the Federal Government, according to Keyamo, has agreed that BASL goes ahead with regional flight operations at MMA2, where the firm had invested over N600 million in facilities of international standard that had, sadly, been wasting away over the years.
The government also gave the go-ahead to BASL to expand the aprons at MMA2 to accommodate more aircraft, as regional flight operations are billed to commence soon at the terminal.
Lastly, it returned the concession for a five-star hotel and conference centre opposite MMA2, which had been stalled for several years now despite the huge investment of Bi-Courtney in it, with a proviso that the projects must be completed in the next 24 months.
Keyamo also confirmed that other technical details of the agreement between Babalakin and the government are to be unveiled and inked in Lagos in the days ahead.
The Director-General of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr. Jacob Ewalefoh, described the resolution of the issues surrounding the concession as a “masterstroke”, saying President Bola Tinubu’s action demonstrated a commitment to the sanctity of contracts in the country.
The positive review of the concession issues is also a demonstration of the way the present government and all right-thinking Nigerians value and are proud of MMA2, which is the first and most successful Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the country.
And over the years, despite suffering all manner of obstacles in litigations and outright attempts by vested interests to surreptitiously take over the terminal, BASL has remained undaunted and resolute in sustaining the facility.
Since when former President Olusegun Obasanjo inaugurated MMA2 on May 7, 2007 and the first flight operation took off from the terminal same day in a colourful ceremony with Chanchangi Airline’s Lagos-Kaduna flight, BASL has been doing everything humanly possible to keep the terminal running, seamlessly.
Unlike other airport terminals in the country, passenger facilitation at MMA2 is top-notch. This is the reason it has won several laurels back to back for several years, such as the Best Domestic Terminal of the Year and the Best Airport Accessibility and Inclusivity awards, which it, again, won at last year’s 15th Nigerian Aviation (NIGAV) Awards and Ministerial Dinner in Lagos.
Besides, while Babalakin was conferred with the Outstanding Aviation Entrepreneur Award, the Chief Operating Officer, COO/Head of Aeronautical and Cargo Services of BASL, Mr. Remi Jibodu, clinged the Passenger Terminal Manager of the Year Award.
The awards were significant in several ways. They represented MMA2’s sustained excellence in terminal operations, cleanliness, customer services, orderliness and overall passenger experience, as well as underscore the strength of the terminal’s original design and its unwavering commitment to a comfortable, accessible and inclusive environment for all passengers.
MMA2, which is one of the enduring PPP experiments in infrastructure assets in Africa, was built by Babalakin, using entirely private capital, without government support, under a Design-Build-Operate-Transfer (DBOT) concession awarded in 2003 after fire engulfed and completely destroyed the old domestic terminal. Its design dwafted the initial design by government officials.
When it opened in 2007, it became the first airport terminal on the African continent to be successfully built wholly with private capital.
•Omolale, a seasoned journalist, sent this piece from Lagos.
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