The new Nigeria national airline, Nigeria Air, will need $308.8 million dollars as preliminary and take-off cost. This is just as the airline will receive the first set of 5 airplanes on 19 December 2018.
This disclosure was made by an insider, Mr Dapo Williams in London where the new national carrier’s (Nigeria Air) name and logo were unveiled on Wednesday. According to Williams, the Nigerian government is not fully funding the airline as it has adopted midwifing it via the option of a Public Private partnership, to deliver a national carrier that would stand the test of time and be world class in operation and management. He also said the airline will make profit in 3 years after operations.
He said : “We will make the investments and follow the business plan through private sector management. We intend to get a 30 aircraft market in 5 years. But we will begin with 5 aircrafts on the day of launch. Government would step in to cover the funding gap at the onset and ease out thereafter”. “Government would not get involved in the management of the Nigeria Air.The Airline would take advantage of Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) that the country had with over 70 countries. It will also take advantage of the Africa Single Air Transport Market and will be the best player if the government gets it right”.
“The government would bring its contribution to kick-start the Airline. The amount of equity the partners would hold would determine government contribution.The Start up cost over the next 3 years is about $300 million, but pre-start-up is $8.8 million. The rest of the investment will be equity injection which will happen in tranches”. “Government will provide financial needed to make it take off, but the National Carrier will be entirely private sector controlled. There will be zero government interference. The government will have to spend the pre-start up cost like the brand name, the office and other start up cost”. “It will be a world class airline with domestic, regional and international operations. The airline will provide opportunities for investors at all levels of supply chain”, Wlliams said.
Recall that on Wednesday this week, the Federal government unveiled the name , logo and selected 81 routes for the much awaited national carrier. This was done by the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika at the Farnborough International Airshow in London. According to the minister, the name of the national airline is :Nigeria Air, while the logo is Nigeria coat of arms with the national flag draping on it.
