The minister made the call yesterday at the opening of the Sami Court Hotel owned and operated by the MRS Group at the departure lounge of the international wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
While acknowledging that the Nigeria budget could no longer fund the government’s plan to improve passenger experience, he said: “For now, our focus in the aviation sector is to collaborate with the private sector; the reason is that the budgets of all ministries that have to do with infrastructure within the country cannot fund our ambition in terms of infrastructure development.
“What we have been doing is to attract private sector participation in the development of our infrastructure and enhance the passenger experience. A lot of the private sector collaboration is in the kitchen; it is cooking”, he disclosed.
The minister further disclosed that he and other heads of aviation agencies have been working behind the scenes to drive private sector investment into the airport, hinting that in a few months to come the administration would unveil more packages at the airport from the MRS Group, saying other investors are also seeking collaborations.
