By Chinelo Obogo
Nigerian Aviation Handling Company PLC (nahco aviance) is targeting N100 billion in revenue in the next five years, its chairman, Dr. Seinde Fadeni, has said.
The company said it has concluded plans to diversify its investment portfolio in order to create new jobs and contribute significantly to resolving the country’s foreign exchange crisis.
Fadeni disclosed this at the weekend at the sidelines of the Annual General Meeting in Lagos, where he said the company is exploring new areas of investment in order to trigger a positive economic impact.
According to Fadeni, the company is convinced that food export holds significant potential for foreign exchange earnings because of its impact on the livelihoods and prosperity of many Nigerians.
He said though the company is navigating safely around the myriad of challenges confronting the air transport space, he urged the government to look at ways to improve airport infrastructure to keep pace with the future growth plan. He said industry stakeholders have an obligation to look at implementing policies that support sustainable aviation fuel. Fadeni said concrete targets should be set and steps taken to execute innovations that support the industry and the world’s net zero CO2 emission goals.
He said: “NAHCO believes that the government at the centre should work towards reducing the financial burden for airlines and passengers by reviewing applicable taxes. This way, more payees would be brought into the tax net. Not too long, the international Air Transport Association declared that Nigerian airports charge foreign airlines about 27 levies.
“This makes Nigerian airports the most expensive in the world discouraging airlines from flying into the country. This is not the kind of laurel Nigeria should be proud of. It is a disincentive to investment to both active and prospective investors. Government should address this situation. Government should also heed the industry’s calls for the harmonisation of the regulatory environment, particularly at the ports in a way that aligns with global best practices. The nation’s ease of doing business mantra should be in practice and not in theory only.”
Fadeni said as much as the company supports the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund especially as it relates to the aviation industry and its plan to upgrade infrastructure at the airports, such declaration should have overall industry impact.”
He said though the year 2023 was characterised with multiple cost related challenges, the increased cost of handling an aircraft cannot be easily passed on the airline by ground handling companies because any proposed hike in rates would require the approval of the industry regulator – Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
He also spoke of plans by NAHCO to re – invest in it’s facilities to enable it retain its position in the ground handling and warehousing business.
“The very act of getting new rates approved has its challenges as well. It is therefore not uncommon to see ticket prices rising geometrically while ground handling rates charged by service providers to airlines remain solidly stagnant. Our push towards birthing a global integrated logistic giant is taking good shape with the coming into operations of new subsidiaries,” he said.
Also speaking, its Group Managing Director, Mr. Indranil Gupta, said the company intends to diversify investment into other sector’s of the economy to grow. He said NAHCO will continue to bless invest in operational equipment to drive sustainable growth.
“We will continue to leverage our strength and market insights to pursue organic and strategic growth initiatives to expand our market presence and revenue streams. We plan to comprehensively refresh our fleet of ground support equipment to replace aging equipment and increase the numbers in our fleet to meet the ever increasing customer needs and expectations.
“We are already embracing digitalization and innovation, investing in cutting edge technologies and solutions to enhance our service offerings, operational efficiency and competitiveness. By harnessing the power of data analytics, automation and predictive maintenance , we aim to stay ahead of the industry trends and deliver superior value to our clients,”Gupta said.