The Nigerian government revealed that the country plans to set up an aircraft leasing company to help domestic and African carriers obtain new planes and is seeking private partners for the venture.
Quite a lot of airlines operating in Nigeria will like to expand their fleet, however, 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 noted that the new company would initially lease aircraft from international lessors and sub-lease them to domestic operators.
The Nigerian government said it wants its partners to be a consortium of international lessors, financial institutions and investors. The West African country revealed interested bidders will have until May 20, 2019 to show interest.
The government, which will own a minority stake, said it 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.
Source: footprint2africa.com