The document, which was signed by Ag. Director-General, ICRC, Engr. Chidi Izuwah and dated July 6, 2018, also said that the Federal Government also agreed to “zero contribution to airline management decisions and zero management control
Contrary to the assurance of the Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika that the Federal Government would not invest any amount of money in the impeding national carrier for the nation, investigation has revealed that the government would commit a huge sum into the project.
Information gathered by our correspondent revealed that the proposed national carrier would gulp $308 million; $8.8 million preliminary cost and $300 million as take-off cost.
Investigation by SaharaReporters indicated that government would provide upfront grant to fund aircraft acquisition and upfront capital for the project.
A document from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) with the reference number FMOT/Aviation/003/2018 to the Federal Ministry of Transportation (Aviation) said that the last weekend’s certificate of Outline Business Case Compliance issued the ministry was based on the agreement that government would provide an upfront grant to the start-up carrier.
The document, which was signed by Ag. Director-General, ICRC, Engr. Chidi Izuwah and dated July 6, 2018, also said that the Federal Government also agreed to “zero contribution to airline management decisions and zero management control.
The contribution of upfront grant to the start up airline was however contrary to the statement of Sirika earlier in the year when he declared that the government would not invest any amount of money in the project.
Sirika had said that the government would only provide an enabling environment for the project to thrive, assuring that the government would abide by this.
The document reads in part: “This certificate is granted on the condition that the Federal Government demonstrates her commitment to leverage private sector capital and expertise towards the establishment of the National Carrier through the provision of an upfront grant/Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to fund aircraft acquisition/start-up capital.
“The FG also agrees to zero contribution to airline management decisions and zero management control by the government. Any attempt to impose government control over the management of the airline invalidates this certificate and the entire process.
“In view of the fact that the mitigating conditions for the project may change over time, this certificate is valid for 12 months from the indicated below. This certificate is therefore issued to enable the ministry commence an international open competitive bidding process to procure a world-class strategic investor to manage, operate, maintain and invest in the National Carrier.
It would be recalled that Sirika had on Sunday presented to the public the Outline Business Case Certificate of Compliance received from Izuwah for the proposed new national carrier for Nigeria.
Sirika had said that the receipt of the certificate from ICRC was an official approval of the process through which the project had gone so far.
According to him, there was no doubt that the issue of national carrier for Nigeria was very close to the hearts of both the government and the people, saying that that was why the government had taken the option of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with the belief that it was the only way to deliver a national carrier that would stand the test of time.
He commended the efforts of the ICRC Director-General and his team in ensuring that the national carrier project had remained on track through the observation of all legal aid regulatory frameworks.
Sirika also expressed satisfaction with the way the Transaction Advisers (TA) had carried out their assignments with utmost diligence and timeliness, assuring that the project would delivered world-class in operation and management.
He used the occasion to debunk claims that the national carrier would sound the death knell for other airlines operating in the country.
Nigeria, with a population of over 180million people with so many un-serviced routes offered more than enough space for all serious airlines to operate profitably, he said.