(Lagos, Nigeria, 16 April, 2018)

Transcription

1 Address by the President of the Council Of the International Civil Aviation Organization Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, to the 59th Airports Council International (ACI) Africa Conference (Lagos, Nigeria, 16 April, 2018) H.E. The Secretary to the Government, Mr. Boss Mustapha The Honourable Minister of State for Aviation of Nigeria, Senator Hadi A. Sirika Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the House of Representatives ACI World Director General, Ms. Angela Gittens ACI Africa President, Mr. Saleh Dunoma ACI Africa Secretary General, Mr. Ali Tounsi CEOs of Aviation Agencies Representative of Nigeria on the ICAO Council and 2nd Vice President Ladies and gentlemen, It is an honour for me to be with you here this morning to address this 59th Airports Council International (ACI) Africa Conference. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for the very warm welcome and generous hospitality it has accorded us. Africa today, is one of the fastest growing air transport markets in the world. The industry generates very positive impact on tourism and trade, and it has become a catalyst for sustainable social, economic and human development, directly and indirectly supporting 6.8 million jobs and generating 72.5 billion dollars in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Airports serve as veritable gateways to this development and prosperity, facilitating the connectivity, tourism and trade which in turn foster economic growth and new opportunities all over Africa today. That connectivity is presently being enhanced with the launch of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia earlier this year, as well as through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) which was newly established by African Heads of State at their meeting in Kigali, Rwanda this past March. The current efforts being undertaken to reposition air transport in Africa, and ensure its sustainability, are in clear acknowledgment of the fact that regional air traffic is still forecast to grow at roughly 3.8 per cent annually through I will like to reiterate that this rapidly-expanding air traffic can only be sustained and optimized through the continued development and modernization of local aviation infrastructure, particularly at airports.

2 2 This is a key reason why ICAO s Global Plans are helping to establish globallyharmonized objectives and requirements in support of the worldwide modernization of our sector which is now underway. Our related goal is to ensure there are no constraints of infrastructure capacity, technology and financial resources for aviation development. It has become increasingly difficult however, for many States and airport operators to mobilize the significant and dependable funding and investments required for high quality aviation infrastructure. The very limited volume of official development assistance (ODA) and South-South cooperation funding currently available for our sector s infrastructure projects is a big part of this challenge, as are the constraints being faced with respect to public financing more generally. Another key concern is the risk associated with a lack of sufficient institutional, legal and regulatory enabling frameworks in many African States, something which makes it very difficult for financial institutions to invest in airport projects. We must also jointly recognize that the slow implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) was for many years, a limiting factor on the number of flights many African airports managed and this made the financing situation quite precarious for many airports here, due to low utilization levels and therefore, poor returns on investment. On the other hand, due to the more recent and increased focus on air transport liberalization, many African hub airports are now expected to exceed their capacity by 2020, with a new set of attendant challenges relating to the safety and efficiency of operations. Additional activities have been pursued under ICAO s No Country Left Behind initiative, specifically aimed at assisting African States to address aviation safety, security and facilitation, as well as persisting skilled manpower challenges. These include but are certainly not limited to: - The ICAO Comprehensive Regional Implementation Plan for Aviation Safety in Africa (AFI Plan); - The Comprehensive Regional Implementation Plan for Aviation Security and Facilitation in Africa (AFI SECFAL Plan); - And where the shortages of skilled aviation personnel are concerned, the establishment of a dedicated Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) for Africa. I am very pleased that these initiatives, are delivering positive results leading to a significantly reduced accident rate on the continent. It is also important to recall in this context that airport facilities are much more than just impressive new terminal buildings. More attention must continue to be paid to the airside safety priorities at Africa s airports, including international airport perimeter fencing, taxiway and runway safety and effective fire services and wildlife management.

3 3 ICAO remains particularly concerned that many African airports are accepting international flights without requisite certifications. In order to address this significant deficiency, the AFI Plan has launched a specific project championed by the ICAO Dakar and Nairobi Regional Offices to assist African States in Aerodrome Certification in compliance with the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) contained in Annex 14 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. It is also important to remember that airports are very much at the front lines where aviation security and passenger facilitation are concerned, and that they are the source of many travellers first impressions of the country they will visit. Airports also play a very important role in our efforts to check the spread of communicable diseases through air transport. Conscious of these challenges, ICAO has been working with ACI and other stakeholders to assist States in securing resources and capacities to develop and modernize their aviation infrastructure. We are also working together to foster Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) to improve real-time coordination and information sharing between airport operators, aircraft operators, ground handlers and air traffic control as well as with border control agencies to enhance safety, security, and I would like to take a moment here to thank ACI for its contribution to the improvement in Africa-wide implementation of ICAO s safety, security and facilitation SARPs. I am pleased to acknowledge that a good deal of the total success being achieved under our No Country Left Behind initiative, has also been due to ACI s collaborative Airport Excellence (APEX) in Safety and Security and other related programmes. Ladies and gentlemen, at last year s Third ICAO World Aviation Forum (IWAF/3), which we conducted in Abuja, a Declaration and Framework for a Plan of Action for Development of Aviation Infrastructure in Africa was adopted in support of the African Union s Agenda This Declaration underscored the importance of including aviation infrastructure development as a key component of national development plans. It should also assist us to get more and better-defined aviation projects included in the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) during its next Priority Action Plan cycle from 2020 to ICAO s IWAF events have been very helpful in identifying five key planning and implementation priorities to help governments address the quite specific financing challenges facing aviation infrastructure and capacity development. In the first place, airport operators must be attentive to the concept of value both for investors relative to overall infrastructure development costs and for the proposed facility s end-users and other customers. I will like to draw special attention to ACI s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) programme in this regard, as it provides the research tools and management information to better understand passengers views and what they want from an airport s products and services. Secondly, States can deliver tremendous support to airport operators looking for investments by taking pragmatic measures to realize transparent, stable and predictable regulatory climates, whether for direct investment, business reform, private finance initiatives, or public-private partnerships (PPP).

4 4 No investor wants to project out their proposed returns based on one eventuality, only to see those goal posts being moved by a government half way through a project after they have made their financial commitment. For States with limited access to investment finances, it is therefore critical to include major airport infrastructure needs in the priority list of international public finance and assistance for development projects. The third priority in this list is for airport operators, in coordination with States, to clearly demonstrate where financing is required. This can be accomplished through gap-analyses of forecast demand, future capacity needs, and current infrastructure deficiencies. A fourth important development objective for airports is in relation to how States and airport operators should design their associated operations and projections in respect of ICAO policies on airport charges and taxation. Revenues raised via passenger charges and taxes are often significantly outweighed by what a State will lose out on in terms of more broad-based economic growth, largely as a result of the dampened demand for air travel and air cargo shipments which these charges lead to. It is therefore important to seek to complement aeronautical charges with a variety of non-aeronautical revenues. The fifth and final priority in this area is that due focus must also be placed on investment in so-called soft infrastructure such as human capacity development. Financial investment and enhancements in human capacity are directly linked and completely dependent on each other over the longer term. This brings to mind, ICAO s AFI Human Resources Development Fund and I wish to encourage States and financial institutions to support its operations which are so essential for our shared capacity-building objectives in Africa. I will also draw your attention to the airport management training which ICAO and ACI jointly support through the Airport Management Professional Accreditation Programme, the AMPAP. In closing now, let me reiterate that the development and modernization of quality airport infrastructure is a key implementation priority in support of the interconnected targets and aspirations now being pursued under the ICAO Global Plans, for Aviation Safety, Aviation Security and Air Navigation Capacity and Efficiency. The many agreements, priorities and concerns I have raised with you today should be appreciated and considered as your governments and airport authorities seek to assure greater investor certainty and heightened business confidence, whether for current or future air transport upgrade and expansion projects in your respective States. Additionally, in an era when climate change mitigation is a fundamental priority for all State and industry planners, let us not forget that each new airport infrastructure project is in and of itself a new opportunity to surpass compliance with the latest sustainability standards, minimize still further the impact of aviation emissions and noise on the environment, and thereby reduce the climate change impacts from aviation infrastructure and operations. I am sure that with the continuous cooperation and collaboration of ICAO, ACI and other stakeholders, we will be able to better showcase the economic benefits of aviation to the public, mobilize more resources for sustainable and environmentally responsible airport infrastructure development, and ultimately ensure that No Airport Is Left Behind where the coming modernization of air transport in Africa is concerned.

5 5 I wish you all a very productive and stimulating 59th ACI Africa Conference. Thank you.