Confusion as CCECC abandons work at Lagos Airport terminal

The project, though 90 per cent completed, was further roiled by confusion over a move to concession the four main international airports and the government’s refusal to clear the air on the status of the terminals, and the repayment plan of the Chinese loan.

One would have expected the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to concession the airports after resolving the many bugging issues already identified by industry experts, workers unions and the general public, and utilise these funds on more pressing issues in the sector.

Aba said the agreement the government had with the Chinese government before it accessed the EXIM Bank loan, was that the contractor would recoup its investment by running the terminals for a time, which is akin to a concession.

“Policy statement on the concession of airports to evolve total private sector participation is not here in six years when Ghana Airport’s transformation took barely two years.

A coalition of aviation unions and stakeholders has described the “concession within concession” as untidy and not in the best interest of the country.

They requested details of the $500 million loan deal to build the four terminals, especially the add-on plan to concession the same terminals.

“Not only has the debt risen from the initial $500 million loans to about $1 billion, but the government seems to be contradicting itself because the principle of the agreement is like a concession.

The Guardian learnt that the development was not unconnected with the planned concession of the four main international airports and alleged default of the Federal Government (FG) to pay the counterpart fund in full..

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