Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Two consortia, FIDMA/MA and AIMS have their bids for the concessioining of Asaba airport opened on Wednesday by Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa.
At the ceremony with representatives of the favourite bidders in attendance, Okowa expressed his desire to have an airport that is of international standard running effectively in Delta State.
According to Governor Okowa who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Festus Ovie Agas, “we are happy with the interest of various consortia for the Asaba airport concessioning and want to reassure you that the bids will be diligently analysed by the transaction advisers.
“As a government, we are committed to building an effective and efficient airport and to make the Asaba airport a hub with the support and cooperation of the private sector. I want to assure you that Delta State is ready and open for business.”
FIDC/MA Consortium and AIMS Consortium led by Adanwimo Ezeife and Chief Onome Onokpasa, respectively commended the transparency and fairness of the bidding process, stating that they look forward to the announcement of the results of the technical evaluation.
Senior Policy Adviser to the Governor, Prof. Sylvester Monye, said that the Delta State government built a world-class airport and was interested in its effective operation.
While disclosing the bidding modalities, Monye asserted that “building an airport is one thing, running it effectively is another.
“What we have done is coming up with the idea of concessioning the airport to take it to the level we want it to be. We want it to be a win–win situation, and decided to do a fast-track by considering a model that we believe will work with a master concessionary and sub concessionary.”