THIRTEEN AIRPORTS DESIGNATED AS CARGO AIRPORT

Thirteen airports in Nigeria have been
designated as perishable cargo airports,
authorities said on Tuesday, describing the
move as a way of transforming the aviation
sector into a major revenue earner for
Nigeria.
The perishable cargo terminals would be
located in Abuja, Akure, Calabar, Ilorin,
Jalingo, Jos, Kano, Lagos, Makurdi, Minna,
Owerri, Port Harcourt and Uyo airports.
“These airports which are in proximity to
food baskets will be developed with
international standard perishable cargo
facilities to enhance their operations,” said
Yakubu Dati, spokesperson at the Federal
Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN.
Nigeria has 22 airports operated by FAAN,
four of which are functional international
airports. Africa’s most populous country also
has a state owned airport located in Akwa
Ibom State.
In addition, there are airstrips or airfields
scattered around the country, built mainly by
the Nigerian Air Force and multinational oil
companies.
But only few of these airports have a
perishable cargo terminal like the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja,
Lagos, southwest Nigeria. The authorities
said that must change.
Dati said state governments have also been
encouraged to partner with the Federal
Government to revive smaller airports.
He said the move is to enable them key into
the over N250 billion annual air freight
export market out of Africa.
“Countries like Kenya, South Africa, Benin,
Cote d’ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia,
Tanzania and Egypt are participating in the
trading in commodities such as fruits, fresh
fish, vegetables and flowers while Nigeria,
which produces these produce in
abundance, records zero participation.
“The strategy is therefore to create the
much needed storage infrastructure in view
of the large volume involved and to facilitate
the evacuation of agricultural produce to
domestic markets, in conformity with
international standards,” he said.