Why government must
invest in capacity building
By UCHE USIM
Monday, April 28, 2008
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•Van
Elk
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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When in the early hours of May 10, 2000, fire from the “blues”
engulfed the domestic terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport,
Lagos, the nation was robbed of an important aviation facility.
As an ad hoc measure, domestic flight services were squeezed
into the General Aviation Terminal (GAT).
What was thought to be a temporary measure soon became the
permanent one for airline operators. As airlines grew in number,
it became obvious that the abandoned terminal had to be rebuilt.
However, three years after, nothing happened at the place
as the government wanted a Public-Private-Partnership sort
of business synergy.
The plan completely transferred all development and operation
risks to the private sector specifically on a Build-Operate-Transfer
arrangement.
In 2003, Bi-Courtney Limited, the parent company of Bi-Courtney
Aviation Services Limited, got the concession to design, build
and operate the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos domestic terminal
and ancillary facilities on a land area of 20,000 square meters.
The project comprises an airport terminal, a multi-storey
car park and an apron.
On completion, a Dutch, Mr Alex Van Elk, was appointed to
manage the magnificent edifice.
Elk readily tells anyone that the journey to having MMA 2
in place was not smooth all through. Financial support was
quite rigid, judging from the fact that BOT financing was
still in its infancy in Nigeria. And banks with their penchant
for quick returns on investment did not readily embrace huge
projects which obviously have long term repayment arrangements.
But they had to and they did when they saw the tenacity and
unrelenting efforts of the company.
As the terminal remains operational, Elk, the man at the helm
of affairs, said that he was determined that the complex handled
regional operations, which was part of the agreement the company
signed with the Federal Government.
He was also worried that the terminal was still under-utilized
as strong airlines like Virgin Nigeria and Arik Air were yet
to move into the complex.
While urging more airlines to come into the complex, he said
that more facilities were being added to the terminal to ensure
passengers’ and other users’ comfort.
He also emphasized that the complex was complemented by a
four-star hotel under construction. It has 217 guest rooms
and two presidential suites.
In this piece, he outlines the challenges facing him as the
man at the helm of affairs, as well as his dreams for the
terminal, among others.
Background
My experience in aviation dates back to 1976 when I started
working in Operations Department of a Dutch airline. And during
my time at the airline, I went through logistics, senior positions
and leading operations abroad. After the airline experience,
I delved into airport management. I developed an airport in
Holland, I developed an airport in Germany. After doing that,
I was asked to start up Arik Air in Nigeria, which I did.
That was six months contract with the airline from the cradle
to the air. Having done that, I wanted to take few months
rest but it turned out that after one week, I was in Gabon
running an airline. When I was there, I was approached to
run MMA2 here in Lagos. And since I like Nigeria, and the
people, I said okay, lets move up some countries, go back
to Nigeria and start the terminal and this is where I am now.
Factors to consider in airline/airport start up
That’s two completely different things. Let stay with
the airport because the airline, starting up the airline has
to do with market viability and all kinds of things. The big
difference between an airport and an airline is that the airline
has to fight its way into the market but an airport is an
existing thing, which has the market already. Now, starting
up an airport, there is a lot of challenges to overcome. So,
that’s different because when you start what I did before
in the design of buildings, with all kind of things, rules
and quality you want to deliver and so on, then you know what
to do exactly.
The challenge here is that in the existing airport, one of
the first things you have to ensure is to get the airport
operational. It was commissioned a year ago by the former
president of Nigeria. I remember clearly what he said during
the commissioning that we have to ensure the place is set
for commercial operations within one month. At that moment,
that was a real challenge, because basically the terminal
was still in the construction phase.
We managed to do that. We started operations quite well but
there was also the challenge of getting the right people.
Because the fact remains that for you to succeed, you really
need the right personnel, set out the structures for your
operation and see that the airlines and other clients are
happy and okay with the infrastructure you create for them.
For example, we learnt that the extension we want to do, the
design now is going to be in close cooperation with the tenants
and with the airlines, so that from the start of the drawing
board we work together on where we want to go.
Challenges
Like I said earlier, getting the right people is a problem
because aviation is a very specific thing. And to get people
with airport experience in your company is not easy at all.
If they are experienced and are good, you’ll discover
that they are already working for the existing airport. So,
you have to find people and now that is the problem. So, probably
you try to get the basic staff from experienced people. From
there you have to do a lot of training.
I must say that there is the challenge, of course, in construction
companies in terms of having experts because they’re
few and with that challenge in Nigeria, it’s difficult
to have the third party vendor deliver needed goods or services
as when it’s required.
After that phase, the next challenge was getting the airlines,
banks and other service providers to move into the complex.
Employing experts
Well, we sourced them. Quite a lot of them were sourced through
recommendations. Many of them too were people working for
other airports. Like I said we are not buying them away from
them. But many people say this is a beautiful place that is
being constructed more than anything else in Nigeria and I
want to be part of that. And you can’t imagine that
somebody with vast experience in airport management will stick
to the old terminal when there is an opportunity to develop
a new airport experience. So, that is part of what you get.
People know that this is a great development, they know Bi-Courtney,
they know the company and so we got more than sufficient applications
from people. And that is why we are going to shift out the
really experienced ones or we simply train them to suit the
job we want them to do.
Expansion
That plan is already going on as planned. We are more than
talking to architects. And we have some basic plans for the
extension now. What I’ve decided is that we are all
involved in the expansion, I mean all parties involved should
come to the drawing board to take a final decision on the
design of the extension.
Regional operations
Well, commencing regional operations from the terminal is
a bit problematic right now. We’ve received approval
from the government to do regional operations. And for that,
there are certain things we had to do on our infrastructure,
which we did. But during the stage of doing that, things got
tighter on security. If you look at the rising trend of drug
trafficking, especially in Lagos Airport and other related
issues, you’ll know that there is need for serious security
adjustments. Hitherto, there were some things we had in place
that the government initially said was okay, that we should
continue. They now say review that and do it again.
That is the main reason we haven’t started regional
operations. We are in discussions with the NCAA on that, so
as to know what we can do. For us, there is going to be a
decision to take whether we are going into regional operations
in the existing building or that we find alternative ways
to do it. It can be in the extension we are going to build
and we could even think about the General Aviation Terminal
(GAT) which is now used by Arik Air, which is, of course,
in our opinion, is an illegal act. As far as we’re concerned,
we’ve a Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) agreement with
the government which states that all the domestic airlines
should carry out their operations from our terminal. So, Arik
is in that way not complying with the directive from the government.
They complied when they moved out of the international. But
that’s only half of it. So, if people say they complied
they only complied halfway. But we also could think of that,
we look at the GAT regional terminal, refurbish it, operate
it and make that terminal free for regional operations. So,
there are a number of things we can do with that.
Why we’re not in control of the GAT yet
There is approval to operate the GAT. The fact that we are
not doing that yet has everything to do with the fact that
I want it clearly stated on paper and not verbal. I don’t
want to come into a situation where things are not clearly
outlined or a situation that we are going to have discussions
with people on who is to do what and who is entitled to do
what because the issue at this moment is with the FAAN workers.
I can understand from their point of view, about the concern
for their job.
But if you look at it in a corporate way, they should see
that it is not about losing jobs. They are not going to lose
jobs. It is about making an airport profitable and make it
a better working environment. Now because of the sensitivity
of the whole situation, I said okay, I want to have everything
clearly in writing then we are going to act with that. But
I cannot act on feeble things. You know what they say in Nigeria,
if it is not on paper, it does not exist. And I would want
to avoid clashes or misunderstanding with certain groups over
the issue.
Staff strength/management style
At this moment, we have more that 200 persons working here.
We still have vacancies here in many departments. I manage
them through my management team. We have set-up a management
team with capable leaders with experience in their field.
And we have set out the structures with boarding systems,
reading systems, etc. It is very simple. We’re like
a big family. As the man at the helm of affairs, I ensure
there is proper coordination between the departments and I
must say people here are very dedicated and willing to work
for the company. The discipline here is that if you don’t
do what is expected of you, you’ll have serious problems
with your direct managers. But as it is now, the team and
all the employees are very motivated to do their jobs.
Airlines operating in the terminal/potential airlines
We have at this moment four airlines; Aero, Bellview, Chanchangi,
and IRS. We’re waiting for the decision by the Federal
Government on the relocation of Virgin Nigeria. And the same
thing is what we are waiting on the decision about Arik Air.
That is the situation now.
Can the terminal contain all the airlines if Arik
and Virgin finally come over?
Yes, it can. And it is for that reason of accommodating all
airlines that we need the GAT apron to handle more flights.
Aircraft can park there. The terminal itself has sufficient
space for aircraft and passenger facilitation. There are 31
check-in counters in there. We have sufficient space to accommodate
everybody. That is not a problem. We have brand new buses
to take the people to remote parking positions. The only thing
is, the 14 positions we have here in our apron are not sufficient
for all the airplanes. And for that reason, we have the GAT
which puts in additional 17 positions that’s making
a total of 31 as well. Now, with 31 parking stands, we are
able to accommodate all traffic.
Security arrangement in MMA 2
Security here is handled in two ways. One is by our staffer
to do the airside, and car park. Experienced people also head
that. If you talk about aviation security, that is something
we have signed in the MoU with FAAN and they supply staff
to do checks at the x-ray machines and the other security
arrangements. They do this together with our staffers as well.
So, we work very well together in that respect.
Manpower development
Well, training and retraining is an ongoing thing. And in
choosing those we want to train, we prioritize it. Some working
in certain fields go for trainings more regularly than others.
If you look at the security people, for instance, we have
hired graduates, well-educated people to do security. This
is because they are more or less our business card in the
airport. If people ask questions, they get a proper answer
and they are addressed properly. If you look at operations,
it is a constant system of trainings, together with FAAN,
with NCAA and other parties needed. This is so because if
you look at operations, for it to be safe and secure, you
can not just say, you are trained, you are on the job and
now you are on your own. It is a constant, additional training
and also checks on the people that they live up to expectation
and that they stay focused. If you don’t train anybody,
it slides off. Training is an on-going thing and we invest
a lot on that.
Assessment of the Nigerian aviation industry
My view is that it has a large potential. Nigeria is a very
rich nation, not only from resources but also from education
of people. I think if people work properly, things will move
much faster than they are now. If you look at corruption and
eliminate that, do proper business that will heavily increase
the perception of Nigeria in the outside world because there
are a lot of businesses in Nigeria and also there are good
businesses from Nigeria to the outside world. Now, another
thing that is very high on the table at this moment, is training
of lower staff people. In my opinion, I think Nigeria should
invest more in the young people to give them the proper education.
There is a level of very well educated people and there is
a level of people that are not educated at all or very low.
Now, if you focus more on training those people who are not
educated, at least, for the middle staff, you will create
a middle class society in Nigeria as well. And that will be
the benefit of the whole nation.
Implication of having domestic/international operations
in one terminal
You can have international and domestic operations in one
terminal if you take the proper security precautions. Now,
if you look at the international airport in Lagos, everything
went criss-cross to one another, which was something that
was okay in the past years. But it is not okay any more with
the development of terrorist attacks and drug trafficking.
This is one of the issues everybody is trying to express in
the case of Virgin Nigeria.
Though, they might have an MoU. And I don’t even want
to talk about the content about who is right or who is wrong.
But even if it was hitherto right, things can change in a
nation which makes it necessary to change certain security
issues. Now, that might also imply that airlines have to move
based on what the actual situation is in our country now.
And for that reason, I can only say let them listen to the
national security adviser. If the man says they have to move
for security reasons, then let them move. You can never let
commercial reasons prevail over national security. That is
not done. It is a sign of disrespect for the country you work
in.
Development in MMA 2 in nearest future
If you talk about the short term, say the next six months,
there is going to be further upgrading of the facilities in
the terminal. Also, welcoming more tenants. But more tenants
have to be with the relocation of Arik Air and Virgin Nigeria,
of course. More tenants will come and occupy offices if they
know there is enough market to sustain their businesses. There
are restaurants and other businesses in this terminal. That
is the model from the onset. So, that has to be stated. That
is why we say the Federal Government has to stick to the contract
that they have with us.
That is a short term. If you looked at the longer term, within
the next two years, we will have an extension on our terminal,
thus doubling the capacity. And back to the short term, I
hope to find a solution for the regional operations also very
shortly. |
