History
Project conception and initial construction
Asaba International Airport was first conceptualised in 2007 by the administration of Chief James Onanefe Ibori (1999-2007). The overarching objective was to build a standard passenger and cargo airport infrastructure in Asaba, Delta State capable of handling codes C, D and E aircraft, to enhance domestic air travel by creating a modern, convenient and attractive transportation option to connect the state to both the national and international community, and to serve as an additional source of revenue for the State. The decision to site the airport in Asaba because of the strategic position of Asaba as the gateway to the South-East and Niger-Delta region. However, the Ibori administration could not embark on the project. Recognizing the strategic importance of the airport to the subregion, the onus was then placed on Dr Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, the successor of Chief Ibori, to commence the development of the project. The Asaba Airport project was therefore positioned as a key component of his well-quoted Three-point Agenda of Peace and Security, Human Capital Development and Infrastructural Development. On May 7, 2008, the foundation stone of the airport was laid by the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor and in spite of competing needs for scarce state resources. The contract for the construction of the Airport was awarded to U.L.O Consultants Limited at an initial cost of N6.47 Billion. ULO consultants Limited, is an indigenous construction company in Nigeria. In September 2010, two years after the foundation laying ceremony, the former Finance Minister and erstwhile Managing Director of the World Bank, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, performed an inspection tour of the Airport to assess the progress of work. This was against the backdrop of the license approval obtained from the Federal Government of Nigeria. Commercial flights at Asaba International Airport commenced on 13 July 2011, two aircraft, a 48-seater commercial aircraft owned by Overland Airlines and a six-seater, Air France passenger Lear Jet, D/CPDR. The commencement of scheduled operational flight activities began with the Lagos and Abuja routes. The first scheduled commercial flight was on Sunday, July 17, 2011, by Overland Airways at exactly 12.17 pm departed from Abuja and arrived at the Asaba International Airport. The 48-seater Overland aircraft with registration number 5N-BND arrived at the airport with 20 passengers on board. Arik Airline, one of Nigeria’s most respected private Airline operators, after a fact-finding mission and formal inspection tour of the facilities at the Airport commenced full commercial operations at the Asaba International Airport on Friday, September 2, 2011, with maiden flights from Lagos to Asaba and Asaba to Abuja and vice versa. Barrister Ogeah noted that since commercial operations commenced at the Asaba International Airport, the influx of travellers has been amazing as many have now fully embraced the reality of a safer, quicker and much more efficient travelling experience compared to what had existed before now. He also confirmed that Arik Airlines would deploy the DSAH-8 propeller Aircraft, a 74-seater Aircraft with 10 Business Class and 64 Economy Class seats, as directed by the NCAA for its initial operations from the Asaba International Airport, adding that the Airline would operate flights five days a week except on Tuesdays and Saturdays, pending when the Airport has been fully completed for it to begin daily operations and increase its capacity. In August 2013, the Asaba International Airport achieved yet another milestone when the Delta State government made arrangements to collaborate with the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) to airlift pilgrims from the Asaba International Airport to Israel. Since its inception, the Asaba International Airport has handled 6,349 flights and 192,714 passengers at the end of October 2013. The Asaba International Airport was envisioned as part of a concerted plan that involved the dualization of the Ughelli-Asaba Road to link the seaports in Warri and Koko to the major commercial outposts in Onitsha and other towns in the South-East. The Airport, which has been under the operational management of state government institutions with technical support from federal regulatory agencies since commencing commercial flight operations on July 13, 2011, was unfortunately downgraded in May 2015 by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) due to the safety concerns identified by regulatory agencies. As a result, the airport maintained limited scheduled flight operations in the years that followed. However, the Okowa Administration, in fulfilment of its responsibility to reposition the airport facility, embarked on the rehabilitation of key infrastructures within the airport to resolve the regulator-identified challenges which led to the downgrade. The rehabilitation work, which included the construction of a new runway, setting up an instrument landing system and field lighting to have the airport return to 24-hour operations, was successfully completed and the airport was upgraded to Category 6 by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Upon completion of the facility upgrade, the Okowa administration commissioned a feasibility study that revealed that it would be about 85% more expensive for the government to operate Asaba International Airport to its full potential and thus a private sector partnership was the desired approach to resuscitate the airport. Having achieved some quick wins on the Airport repositioning, the Delta State Government under the leadership of His Excellency, Senator Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa decided to expand and modernize the airport facilities under a Private-Public Partnership arrangement, which would aid private sector participation, ensure optimal operations of the Airport, foster economic growth, improve trade and commerce, entrepreneurship, job creation and skills acquisition.Asaba Airport Concession
Following the upgrade of the airport facility and the government’s intent to invite private sector participation, the Delta State Government issued a Request for Proposal to select a Transaction Adviser and in March 2016, Delta State Executive Council approved the appointment of HALCROW Infrastructure Consortium as the Transaction Adviser to the Government to midwife the concessioning of Asaba International Airport. Following an in-depth analysis of the PPP opportunity for Asaba International Airport, the government opted for a master concessionaire and sub-concessionaire model as the appropriate model for the concession of the Airport. The Delta State Government announced that the state resolved for a consortium of concessionaire operators/investors with the technical and financial capabilities to redevelop, finance, design, operate, maintain and manage the Asaba International Airport for the benefit of Deltans. In September 2018, the government called for bids from private investors/developers to take over the facility, expand, manage and remake it into a regional hub. Proposals for the Asaba International Airport concession became open in May 2019 and two consortia emerged from the exercise – First Investment Development Company Menzies consortium (the preferred bidder) and AI-MS Aviation Infrastructure consortium (the reserved bidder). The First Investment Development Company Menzies consortium was announced as the winner having fulfilled the requirements of the tendering process. Consequently, Asaba Airport Company was established as a Special Purpose Entity (SPE) by the private investors (concessionaire) on October 12, 2020, for the sole purpose of developing and managing the Asaba International Airport. On the 23rd of February 2021, Asaba Airport Company signed a 30 years concession agreement with the Delta State Government after a rigorous and transparent selection process. Key highlights of the concession include: • The Concessionaire shall prepare a Master Plan for the Airport setting out the proposed development for the entire Airport, planned over a 20-year time horizon. • The Concessionaire shall commence a Mandatory Capital Project Development of the airport which includes: Passenger Terminal Upgrade and Extension, Cargo Terminal, Aviation Fuel Terminal Upgrade, and Business Park. Upon the signing of the concession agreement, a Project Delivery Oversight Committee (PDOC) consisting of five (5) members including the Concessionaire Representative, two (2) employees of the Concessionaire and two (2) persons appointed by the Delta State Government was established within 30 days of execution of the Agreement. The PDOC is responsible for ensuring that the terms of the concession agreement are duly satisfied and it shall be the single point of contact for the Concessionaire for all matters concerning the Agreement. The PDOC was also responsible for overseeing the six months transition period. The transition period ensured a seamless transfer of the operations and management of the airport to Asaba Airport Company. The handover of the management of Asaba International Airport to Asaba Airport Company was performed in a symbolic ceremony on 22 August 2021.Ownership
The Delta State Government is the vested owner of Asaba International Airport and by virtue of the executed concession agreement has conceded the development, operation and management of the airport to Asaba Airport Company Limited for a period of 30 years. The management of the airport covers all airside infrastructure, key airport facilities and all landside infrastructure.Infrastructure
Runways
Asaba operates as a single-runway airport (11/29) with a length of 3400 meters and a width of 45 meters. Runway 11 is equipped with a Category 1 runway lighting system consisting of approach lights, runway edge lights, runway centreline lights, runway threshold lights and taxiway lights. Precision Approach Path Indicators (PAPI) are installed on both sides of runway 11. A category 1 Instrument Landing System (ILS) system is installed for landing on runway 11 consisting of Glideslope, Localiser & CVOR co-located with DME. The Take-Off Run Available (TORA) published in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) is 3400m in both directions. Nearly 90% of take-off and landings are towards the east.Taxiways and aprons
Asaba International Airport has a network of taxiways connecting the runway to the single apron. All of these taxiways are 25 meters wide. The apron of the airport covers a land space of 45,000 square metres, which means it will accommodate up to ten active Boeing 747’s (the second-largest aircraft ever built) at a time.Terminals
The Airport terminal building has a total area of approximately 3,600 sq. meters and is built to accommodate airlines’ administrative buildings, and departure and arrival lounges. The passenger terminal is located at the northern end of the airport and is split into three areas: Check-in hall: the check-in hall area has 10 check-in counters and ticket desks for airlines. The offices for the airport operator, agencies and airlines can be accessed from the check-in hall and are located on the 1st, 2nd & 3rd floors. Arrival hall: The baggage reclaims area has two baggage carousels for baggage delivery and also contains a wine shop, airport clinic & porter services. The desk for various car rental businesses is conveniently located before the exit from the arrival hall. Departure lounge: After check-in, passengers pass through security screening to the departure waiting area with a seating capacity of 500 passengers. There are four restaurants as well as a clothing & shoe shop, bookstore and travel essentials shop located in the waiting area.Airlines and destinations
Ground Transport
Car
Asaba International Airport is approximately 7.9 Kilometres (4.9 mi) from the city centre and is accessible with Asaba Airport Road providing a direct link between the Asaba-Benin Expressway and the airport. Asaba International Airport has a variety of car parking including long, mid, and short-stay options. A drop-off zone is also available for passengers and VIPs. The drop-off VIP zone area is located at the departure and arrival hall entrance of the terminal building.Bus
Buses do not operate at the airport.Rail
There is no direct rail access to Asaba International Airport.Expansion Proposals
The FIDC-Menzies Consortium is equipped and committed to deploying its skills and expertise toward the transformation of the Asaba International Airport. The proposed development plan for Asaba International Airport will be: • The commencement of the modernization programme of the airport through the upgrade of the existing terminal and ancillary facilities, the introduction of optical fibre to provide reliable internet communication, re-organization of the airside terminal and the general elevation of passenger travel experience. The short-to-medium term development plan for Asaba International Airport will include: • The introduction of international cargo services through the erection of a modern cargo terminal with ancillary facilities. • The enhancement of commerce within the airport through the provision of office space, retail and leisure facilities. • The development of a hotel and conference facility in partnership with Radisson. The long-term development plan is to transform the Asaba International Airport into an airport city whose infrastructure, land use, and economy are centred on the airport. The airside and landside activities in this airport will be resuscitated with attendant benefits on various sectors of the economy of Delta State including but not limited to jobs creation, revenue generation to the State Government and attracting Foreign Direct Investment into Delta State. This project is also envisaged to be rewarding to all stakeholders, as they have pledged to remain resolute in their ability and capacity, based on the composition of the Consortium and their track records, to reposition the airport to be amongst the best in West Africa and a benchmark for international airports operations in the country.Accidents and incidents
There has been no report of accidents and incidents at the Asaba International Airport since operations commenced.See also
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