The Ethiopian Airlines (ET) consortium was chosen as the preferred bidder for Nigeria Air, with a 49 percent stake in the national carrier.
Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation, stated this during a press conference in Abuja on Friday.
ET received an 89 percent out of 100 in the technical bidding process and a 15 out of 20 in financial bids, according to Sirika.
He stated that the request for proposal (RFP) under the PPP Act, which is governed by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), has been completed.
Sirika while talking about the Nigeria Air said “After a careful, detailed and ICRC governed selection process, Ethiopian Airlines (ET) Consortium has been selected as the preferred bidder, offering an owner consortium of 3 Nigerian investors.
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Nigeria Air investors
“The Nigerian investors are MRS, SAHCO and the Nigerian Sovereign Fund (46%), FGN owning 5% and ET 49%. The consortium has been subject to a due diligence process.
“The contract will be negotiated between consortium and FGN, leading to a Full Business Case (FBC) which will be expected to be approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
“We expect this process to take 6-8 weeks.”
The minister stated that the national carrier would begin operations with three Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured specifically for the Nigerian market.
According to him, Nigeria Air will begin operations with a shuttle service between Abuja and Lagos in order to establish a new comfortable, dependable, and affordable mode of transportation between the two major airports.
Other domestic destinations would be added later, according to the minister.
“The first aircraft is on its way to Abuja for additional work, NCAA inspection, demo flights, and audit as part of the AOC requirements.
“In time, two others will arrive to complete the required three aircraft for a new AOC holder. The interim executive team has prepared with the support of FAAN.
“The team has arranged for Terminal C at the Abuja Airport and finalised a contract with MMA 2 terminal in Lagos for the operation of an initial shuttle between Lagos and Abuja,” he said.
He stated that the airline’s headquarters would be located at Abuja Airport’s Operations Control Centre (OCC).