Ex-Rector lists advantages of siting MRO in Nigeria
| The former Rector Of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Capt. Samuel Caulcrick has pointed out the merits of having Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) in Nigeria. Caulcrick who was speaking with newsmen in Lagos said that both government and Nigerians will derive so much benefits from the maintenance facilities if cited in the country. “The advantage of having an MRO in Nigeria is that the company is going to use local labours, which is good for the economy, personnel and the government in terms of tax revenues and the experience that the technical experts are going to get, too.” “Now, let us look at the personnel themselves; being a formal employment that means it is Pay As You Earn (PAYE).” This means locating the MRO in Nigeria, the government earns personnel tax, which another country would now earn. This is why the MRO is very key to any economy He said that with the MRO in Nigeria,airline operators do not have to pay for fuel to ferry the aircraft to and fro, which they are going to buy in dollars. So, those are the advantages. “What Nigeria would gain is the cost of labour, tax and local maintenance. What Nigeria is losing are taxes that are being paid to foreign countries instead to Nigeria and the money that you are going to change into dollar from naira.” “Once an aeroplane is flying in Nigeria, it means it is our economy that is supporting the aircraft to fly. Let’s say it is now one hour to go for an MRO, it means our economy has supported that business for the maintenance to be ready for it to come to the hangar” He said creating enabling environment for MRO investors is very simple “This can be done through policy. For instance,Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority( NCAA) can say it would not renew an existing Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to an intending operator without a local MRO identified in the application form.. According to the former Rector, government can give them a timeline because this could take up to three years to accomplish. “Once you do that, just leave the rest to the private investors because they know there is an investment created for them. Once an investor knows that his business is being protected, then, they will be willing to invest in the industry. They can then approach a bank to seek for loan. That is how you create a market – you create a market through policy. A policy will naturally create a market. That is how China developed today; it’s through policy and law.” On aviation sector performance :I have found it difficult to rate our government and I will tell you why. Aviation is a deregulated economy. Though, we could have made it better, but I think we should not judge this government based on the Nigeria Air project alone. “Apart from this, the government has done very well. For this government to relieve the operators on the exception of custom duties on the importation of aircraft and spare parts, that is a huge success” . Caulcrick suggested that the government should get involved in Jet A1, not as an importer but should tap from the reserve of the Nigerian Air Force. “The government has Jet A1 reserve for the Air Force because of security. So, the Air Force cannot rely on suppliers for Jet A1 to fly their jets. Government should be able to look into that reserve at times to save the commercial sector especially when the scarcity of the product is alarming or if there is a price hike and the government wants to subsidise it”. “The government can call the fuel marketers and buy the product off them and sell at subsidised rate for the airlines” . This is necessary because the government is taking money back from every airline that flies because the airlines are paying charges,he noted. “Definitely with this, the government would make its money back because if they don’t fly, the government cannot make money. For every hour the airlines fly, the government gets some money too, which would have been zero if they don’t fly. So, the government has to be very flexible.” |
