Nigeria to set up Aircraft Leasing Company

Fri, Apr 12, 2019 | By publisher


Business Briefs

The federal government of Nigeria is looking for investors to partner with to establish an aircraft leasing company

 

 

THE federal government is planning to set up an aircraft leasing company to help domestic and African carriers obtain new planes. The government is also seeking private partners for the venture.

Most airlines in Nigeria want to expand their fleets, but high financing costs and currency risks have hampered growth. Nigerian airlines’ revenues are in naira, while most of their costs are in U.S. dollars.

The government said in a statement that the new company would initially lease aircraft from international lessors and sub-lease them to domestic operators. It wants the partner to be a consortium of international lessors, financial institutions and investors, and said bidders had until May 20, to show interest, according to the statement quoted by Reuters. The government would own a minority stake.

The government plans to hand over airports to private managers to attract investment and overhaul aviation infrastructure that has suffered decades of neglect and under-investment. It also plans to set up an aircraft maintenance facility in Lagos or Abuja with private operators.

The government had been considering launching a national carrier, but suspended the project in September 2018, without giving a reason.

– Apr. 12, 2019 @ 16:19 GMT |

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