FAAN targets new investments, partnerships with ACI-Africa conference

With over 300 delegates and participants from different African countries and the world set to attend this year’s Airport Council International conference (ACI-Africa) hosted by Nigeria, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has expressed optimism of the country attracting foreign investments by way of public-private partnerships.

Themed ‘Business Transformation for Sustainable Development of African Airports’, the Director, Commercial and Business Development, FAAN, Sadiku Rafindadi explained that the conference will further aid the advancement of human capacity development in the sector both in Nigeria and in the continent.

Speaking during a courtesy visit of FAAN team to The Guardian, yesterday, Rafindadi said the event would draw experts from across the world, including the Council President of ICAO, Dr Bernard Aliu, adding that the Managing Director of the FAAN, Saleh Dunoma, who is also the president of ACI-Africa Executive Board hopes to position Nigeria as a key stakeholder in decision making as it relates to aviation matters in Africa and the world.

Scheduled to hold between April 14-19 2018, Rafindadi said ACI had been of tremendous assistance in the certification process of the Lagos and Abuja airports through airport excellence (APEX) in safety programme which helped the country identify safety gaps in some of the airports during the certification.

“Nigeria’s hosting of the conference is a pioneer achievement for the country given that this is the first time in history that this prestigious position of ACI-Africa President will be occupied by a Nigerian.

“The advent of Public Private Partnerships in Africa has caused a shift in the transformation of airports into sustainable business entities and Nigeria is not left behind.

In recent years, Nigeria has engaged in the PPP practice and has witness good success. We are working tirelessly to ensure that our airports are viable and self-sustaining hence this is the perfect time for Nigeria to host this prestigious event,” said Rafindadi.