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By Patrick Aigbokhan
Engr. Saleh Dunoma, Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has said that the new terminals at Nigeria’s major international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port-Harcourt and Enugu will make Nigeria the hub of aviation in Africa region, when they are completed in 2016.
Dunoma spoke in Panama during the Annual General Assembly Conference and Exhibition of the Airport Council International (ACI).
The FAAN boss, who spoke as a panelist at the event, said the completion of these terminals would stimulate robust traffic growth in passenger and cargo traffic.
“These airports will improve passenger comfort, increase capacity and improve facilitation”, he said.
Dunoma added that though the 7.2% increase for passenger traffic from the MINT countries (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) as contained in the 2014 ACI World Airport Traffic Report was commendable, this figure would experience a steady rise.
During the opening ceremony of the conference, Mr. Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez, President of Panama, welcomed members to the city, highlighting the importance of aviation which contributes significantly to Panama’s Gross Domestic Product.
In his welcome address, Joseph Fidanque III, the General Manager, Tacuma International Airport, said the Tacuma Airport was building a new terminal to accommodate growing traffic as the hub of the region.
Also speaking on the theme, ‘Airports: Shaping our future’ the Chair of ACI World, Hector Navarrette said ACI “works across all aspects of the airport business, from our top priorities of safety and security to customer service, training, the environment, knowledge sharing and much more”.
In her presentation, Director General of ACI World, Angela Gittens said ACI was enjoying more collaboration than ever with ICAO to ensure that policy decisions were balanced among airports, airlines and air navigation service providers.
The Airports Council International (ACI) accounts for 590 regular members operating 1,850 airports in 77 countries.
It promotes the advancement of the collective interests of the world’s airports and the community they serve, promoting professional excellence in airport management and operations worldwide.
