The Federal Government has said that some private investors are going to raise about N102.75 billion ($250 million) for the take-off of the proposed national carrier for Nigeria.

This is coming after the initial failed attempt almost 3 years ago to launch the proposed national carrier for the country.

According to a report from Punch, the disclosure is contained in a document on the updated status of the government’s aviation roadmap at the Federal Ministry of Aviation, Abuja on Wednesday.

The Aviation Ministry stated in the document that the project development stage for the national carrier has been completed and as such, the procurement stage is the next step to be taken.

READ: FEC approves N10.5 billion for Airport Management Solution for Lagos, 4 other international airports

The statement from the document says, “The next set of steps will involve the commencement of procurement phase by placing an advert for a request for qualification in the national dailies and the foreign media.

$250 million approximately is to be raised to start up the airline by private investors.”

According to the aviation roadmap which is contained in the document, the Federal Government explained that the establishment of a national carrier would enable Nigeria to gain optimal benefits from Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA), take full advantage of the Single African Air Transport Market and introduce competition.

It states, “The national carrier project will be private sector-driven, with the government holding not more than five per cent of the shares.

The private sector consortium may comprise reputable international airlines (such as Qantas), leasing companies, aircraft manufacturers (OEMs), financial and institutional investors.”

The government said it was providing the required support by creating the enabling environment in terms of sustainable policies, allocation of BASA routes, provision of financial guarantees and ensuring fiscal incentives to sustain the success of the airline.

READ: South African Airways to cancel more foreign routes, as revenue loss bites 

What you should know

It can be recalled that in July 2018, the Minister for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, at the Farnborough Air Show in London, unveiled the proposed new national carrier called Nigeria Air and stated that it would be inaugurated by the end of 2018.

This generated a lot of controversies as many Nigerians questioned the use of public funds to set up a private business and had doubts over the ability of the government to manage the airline after the liquidation of government-owned Nigeria Airways.

The Federal Government in 2018, announced the immediate suspension of its widely publicised national carrier due to the alleged non-approval of the airline by the Economic Management Team (EMT) when it launched.

The EMT was also reported to have recommended that public funds should not be used to set up the national carrier.

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has lauded the efforts made by the Board and Management of Transcorp Hotels Plc towards achieving business continuity by enhancing the organization’s operational efficiency.

NGX also congratulated the Group on the successful unveiling of new product lines and efforts towards repositioning the organization, thereby reassuring investor confidence in the company.

This was disclosed by the Divisional Head, Listings Business, NGX, Mr Olumide Bolumole, when the management of the Hotel led by the Managing Director (MD)/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Transcorp Hotels, Mrs Dupe Olusola, presented its Facts Behind the Figures to capital market stakeholders.

READ: Nigerian hotels count revenue losses due to pandemic-induced plunge

Speaking at the event, Mr Bolumole said, “Recently, NGX hosted the CEO, Transcorp Hotels Plc, Mrs Dupe Olusola to a digital Closing Gong Ceremony to commemorate the formal listing of their ₦10Billion rights issue.

We are pleased that Transcorp Hotels has again chosen to utilise our platform to engage the market about the financial performance as well as strategic and operational developments within the organization.

The Exchange recognizes the efforts made by the Board and Management of Transcorp Hotels Plc towards achieving business continuity by enhancing the organization’s operational efficiency. We congratulate you on the successful unveiling of new product lines and efforts towards repositioning the organization, thereby reassuring investor confidence in the company.”

READ: Transcorp records N6.7billion Profit After Tax in Q3; maintains a positive revenue outlook

What Transcorp is saying

Olusola noted that “Despite the adverse effect of the COVID 19 pandemic on all our business segments, Transcorp Hotels Plc remained resilient and took a critical and fundamental decision to remain open and maintain operations at both the Transcorp Hilton Abuja and Transcorp Hotels Calabar.

Our primary goal was to survive as individuals and as a business, to adapt and to thrive in a new, changing, and unprecedented environment. Post-COVID-19 starting from September, we recorded an improvement in all our KPIs as compared with the industry performance.

Today, leisure has become very important to us more than ever. As a hospitality business, we will constantly continue to challenge ourselves to ensure that we meet the diverse customer needs and provide excellent experience across all touchpoints.”

What you should know

Given that information asymmetry affects the decision-making of investors, NGX continues to encourage more issuers to take advantage of its platform to deliver timely, relevant, and accurate information to the market.