The historic landing of a cargo plane at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu on Tuesday, August 24, 2016 has been generating a lot of excitement among the people of south east Nigeria but beyond the celebrations, I am convinced it should also give us the opportunity to sit down and aggregate what economic opportunities it should provide for us as a people. Three years ago, the first international flight landed at the Enugu Airport following its elevation to an International Airport earlier, enabling our people the ease of making international business and leisure travels while also significantly increasing the traffic of tourists to the south east of Nigeria. South-East Nigeria is a vast market with a population conservatively estimated at N45 million people most of whom engage in agriculture and commerce. But the opportunities the Enugu Airport presents become even more significant when you consider the proximity of the State to the North-Central Nigeria states of Benue and Kogi States through which the other states in the North-Central can be accessed. What this therefore means is that the Enugu Airport has the capacity to become the cargo hub for the South East and North Central Nigeria. With a combined population of close to 70 million people, it is easy to imagine opportunities this will provide for the people.
During the recently held in April 2016, which had as its theme: “Beyond Oil: Fostering Inclusive Economic Growth & Sustainable Development”, I had made it clear that ours was a government that was determine to provide the critical development enablers that will catalyze the economy of the state in a manner that the living standard of the people will be uplifted. Since we assumed office on May 29, 2015, I have worked hard to channel resources to areas critical to attracting investment opportunities. These include developing networks of road infrastructure; enhancing access to tools and skills for mechanized agriculture as well as improving the security situation in the state for the comfort of business. These are vital planks in our quest to ensure that the state is economically secure while also convincing our usually entrepreneurial citizens and investors that the state does not only provide a wide and secure market but also is an incubator for the reward of capital.
While we have been working extra hard in the direction of boosting economic activities in the state, the landing of the first cargo plane at the Enugu Airport has added fillip to our strategic goal of ensuring Enugu is not only a regional political capital but also a business and commercial hub of great significance. Studies have shown that cargo airports are great stimulants for economic development. A study done in 2005 on the local and regional economic impacts of Minneapolis/ St. Paul International Airport estimates that that the airport generates 28,545 direct jobs. Of these, around 63% (18,000) are in airlines that use the airport. In addition, 3,000 people are employed by freight airlines/freight forwarders and around 2,300 by ground transportation companies. This is not all. Another 11,264 indirect jobs are generated as a result of expenditure by firms located at the airport, on the goods and services they buy from their suppliers. My people are great entrepreneurs. They travel to all corners of the world in search of goods they bring home to meet the needs of the teeming population of people. They are increasingly also becoming producers themselves, engaging in commercial farming, most of which are exportable to other countries, especially those where Nigerians are in significant numbers. What this means is that there are pipelines of opportunities for my people which, combined with the development strides we are making, are capable of transforming the fortunes of the state and its people in a very short time.
Although I have mentioned some in previous paragraphs, I will take time outline these opportunities below: Employment generation. With the cargo handling capacity of the Enugu Airport, tremendous opportunities have opened for young people in and around Enugu. The Minneapolis example I cited earlier presents a window to project the boundless opportunities available for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers in and around the airport. As a government, we have made employment generation a key plant of our democratic deliverable by creating fertile enablers for the expression of the entrepreneurial spirit of our people and ensuring we get priority call for investment destination. The cargo section of the airport has capacity to directly employ a large number of people while others who will engage in logistics and warehousing support services will also benefit. Trade facilitation. The trade and commerce industry in Nigeria is dominated by the people of south east who travel to all corners of the world for goods and services that meet the needs of well-defined market segments. With a cargo airport in Enugu, the challenges of travelling to Lagos and Abuja to receive imported goods would be significantly reduced and by that token boosting economic activities in the state.
It will also improve turnaround time, save money and reduce the fatalities that often happen while moving goods from Lagos to the south east by road. We also have to look at the agro industries and how this could benefit. In response to the call on our people to invest in agriculture, activities in that sector have been on the upswing. We are looking a t a future when export of agricultural products will be a major revenue earner for the state and the cargo airport will not only facilitate this but will ensure our products get to the market fresher. And this can only happen by air. Colombia, for instance, is the largest exporter to North America of cut flowers, with vegetables and clothing also being important air exports. An estimated 16% of the value of merchandise exports from Colombia is by air. Also in Kenya, exports by air of agricultural products (e.g. fresh vegetables and cut flowers), largely to Europe, already constitute one of the country’s largest industries and the second biggest earner of foreign exchange. These are opportunities that I am sure will not only improve the livelihoods of the people but also spur innovation that I will discuss in the next subhead. Inspiring Innovation. Research has shown that when there is an opportunity to serve a bigger market, 30% of businesses will substantially innovate while the remaining 70% will marginally innovate. What is important here is that innovation happens across industries when they smell the chance to sell to a larger market opens. Our people are already exporting fresh vegetables and other farm products to China, Europe and the Americas but I am certain that with a cargo airport now close to them, I anticipate improvements in crops, standardization and better packaging of products.
This, on its own will spurn other industries that would provide the material and standards for the packaging and also open widows for marketing and branding opportunities for what were otherwise commodities. This will also impact very strongly to economies of scale as industries cluster, more people will be producing to service a vast export market at significantly lower costs. Investment enabler. Most air cargo consists of manufactured products or products that will be used in a manufacturing process. It is estimated that 40% of the value of inter-regional trade in manufactured goods is transported by air. What this means is that nearness to seaports may no longer be an inhibitor to investors who desire to exploit to resource and labour opportunities in the state to locate their industries in Enugu State. The cargo airport has helped solve that problem. During the last Enugu Investment Summit, our emphasis was on making the state attractive to would-be investors by providing the right infrastructure, security and policy architecture. Now that investors are certain their products can be moved to markets without added logistics costs from moving them to Lagos air and sea ports, deciding to invest in Enugu has become a lot easier and already, Government is willing a to provide even more incentives geared towards ensuring there is immediate returns on investment in any industry in Enugu State. Investors are now certain of improved supply chain management as many industries are assured of shortened delivery times which is critical to most businesses these days. When all these would have happened, the longer term implications are that:
1.There will be increased competition as more people would have invested in the state, employing more people, creating efficient systems and deepening the skills of the people in wider industries.
2. It will lead to the expedited and delivery of high-value products, especially relevant to modern-dynamic industries, such as the pharmaceutical/biotechnology and telecommunication equipment sectors.
3.It will also boost e-business as our people will begin to see opportunities of connecting with businesses around the world, knowing their sales will be lifted from an airport close-by and that their purchases from other parts of the world will be delivered with minimal logistics challenges.
4. It means that as a government, we will also be in a better revenue stead. As these businesses grow, government will also benefit from the taxes they will pay. It then means we will be in a better position to provide services for our people, deepen the infrastructure base of the state and attract more investors that will help develop the state the more.
It is against these backgrounds that I am calling on the people of Enugu State to look beyond the excitement at having cargo planes land at the Enugu Airport. There are pipelines of opportunities for us to maximize the opportunity to better our economic circumstances and as Tom Peters said, “If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade.”
Source: mystewardship.ng