TRANSPORTATION

Sep42018 by EditorNo Comments

Nigeria Signs MOU With Volkswagen Group to Boost Industry

The Nigeria automotive industry has got a boost with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Volkswagen Group to develop a joint vision for an automotive hub in the country. Mr Bisi Daniels, Strategy and Communications Adviser to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Okechukwu Enelamah said this in a statement in Abuja on Monday. Daniels said Enelamah signed the MOU on behalf of Nigeria while the Head of the Sub-Saharan Region of Volkswagen, Thomas Schaefer, signed on behalf of Group. According to him, Volkswagen undertakes to implement a phased approach in relation to the assemblage of vehicles. He said this would start from assemblage of kits with the long-term view of establishing Nigeria as an automotive hub on the West Coast of Africa. “This w

Aug152018 by EditorNo Comments

Overland Explores West African market, Commences Regional Flights

Africa, Inside, News, TRANSPORTATION

In a bid to explore the potential of West Africa’s aviation market, through the opportunities provided by the Single African Air Transport Market, Overland Airways has commenced flights to Cotonou, Republic of Benin and Lome, Togo. During the inaugural flight to both countries on Sunday, the Founder and Managing Director of Overland Airways, Capt Edward Boyo, stated that the airline planned to provide economic integration with the flight services.He described the development as historic and the beginning of an initiative to unite the over 400 million people in West Africa. He said, “Overland Airways has come to provide economic integration between Nigeria, Republic of Benin and Togo. We have come to promote trade, which happens when people move from one point to the other. It is poss

Aug102018 by EditorNo Comments

NCAA Licenses New Indigenous Aircraft Maintenance Company

Inside, News, TRANSPORTATION

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has given approval for a new indigenous aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul company, 7 Star Global Hangar, to commence operations. The Chief Executive Officer, 7 Star Global Hangar, Isaac Balami, said on Thursday that the firm would commence operations in the coming week, and would ensure that a comprehensive spare parts inventory marketplace was made available to airlines in the country and across the West and Central African region. Balami, who is a former president of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, stated that through the MRO, millions of dollars would be saved for airlines, and capital flight would be reduced. He said the firm would be working with Jordanian, American and European technical partners, and carr

Aug82018 by EditorNo Comments

Experts Canvass Stronger Air Logistics Policy For Agro Commodities

Industry, Inside, News, TRANSPORTATION

Aviation experts have asked the Federal Government to create stronger policies on air logistics for perishable agricultural produce. According to them, Nigeria is losing close to N3.6tn to export opportunities in agro commodities due to lack of operational and investment drive in the industry as well as in the aviation sector. The experts spoke at a recent workshop on agro air logistics at the Airport Business Summit and Expo 2018 conducted by FCI International Limited, in Abuja. In a report issued at the end of the workshop, they noted that there should be perishable goods unit in all airports to enable the management of the airports build capacity to provide support for warehousing, handling and transportation of the perishable cargo throughout the country and beyond. They also ...

Aug32018 by EditorNo Comments

Taking Advantage Of Africa’s Huge Air Travel Market

Inside, News, TRANSPORTATION

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has projected that the number of airline passengers in Africa will more than double in about 20 years time, based on a growth rate of about 5.6 per cent. IATA said the rate would raise the African number to about 200-million passengers per annum, exceeding that of the global annual compound growth rate, which it estimated at 3.6 per cent. Also, the Director of SUMMA Airports, the Turkish company that completed the building and presently managing the new Dakar Airport in Senegal, Yildirim Ören, in a recent interview in Accra, Ghana, said Africa’s aviation sector growth would exceed global average in the near future. Incidentally, West Africa is where the huge market lies in the continent because the sub-region has the fastest growing

Jul132018 by EditorNo Comments

FRSC, LASTMA Urge Lagos Residents to Use BRT, Waterways

Inside, News, Recommended for you, TRANSPORTATION

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) have advised Lagos residents to use Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and waterways transportation during the repair of Third Mainland Bridge. Mr Hyginus Omeje, Lagos State Sector Commander of FRSC and Mr Chris Olakpe, LASTMA Chief Executive Officer, gave the advice on Thursday in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos. They were reacting to the proposed closure of the bridge for emergency rehabilitation/maintenance. NAN reports that the Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Mr Adedamola Kuti, had on Wednesday said that the emergency rehabilitation/maintenance of the Third Mainland Bridge project would begin on July 27. Kuti, who spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, said t

Jul132018 by EditorNo Comments

Buhari Commissions West Africa’s First Light Rail Operation in Abuja

Inside, News, TRANSPORTATION

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned the Abuja Light Rail Project. The rail which is 45.245km standard gauge rail line from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to the Abuja metro station is the first of its kind in West Africa. The project was flagged-off by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007 in an attempt to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The rail links 13 communities with 12 stations at the Abuja Metro, Stadium, Kukwaba 1 and 2, Wupa, Idu, Bassanjiwa, Airport, Gwagwa Dei-Dei, Kagini and Gbazango. “The completion of this very important project is a dream come true, and clearly demonstrates our administration’s commitment to the realization of critical infrastructural projects,” Buhari said on Thursday. Transportation Secretary of the Federal Capital

Jul132018 by EditorNo Comments

Lawmaker, NRC Disagree on Lagos-Ibadan Rail Delivery Date

Inside, News, TRANSPORTATION

The joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Land Transport has expressed doubt over the December deadline for the delivery of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail project. The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had last month said the December deadline was not negotiable. However, addressing journalists on Thursday after an inspection of the project, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, stated that the contractor had asked for an extension of the timeline. Ashafa said, “After all said and done, after the inspection today, I can say categorically that the December 2018 deadline won’t be a reality. This is understandable giving the quality of job that is being done. “I have been told that the contractor handling the proj

Jul112018 by EditorNo Comments

AFARN Renews Call for Safety in Aviation

Inside, News, TRANSPORTATION

The Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria says it is renewing its call for safety, which is the bedrock of aviation practices. The association said safety issues would form the basis of its 2018 summit and awards. “This was carefully chosen as a way of supporting the government in the quest to grow the national economy, which aviation plays a pivotal role,” the AFARN President, Kingsley Nwokoma, said. Nwokoma said the summit/awards scheduled for July 12 in Lagos would treat an issue considered very topical in the industry, ‘Promoting the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product through safety consciousness in the aviation industry’. He said, “This paper will be delivered by the Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mr Saleh Dunoma. We believe

Jul112018 by EditorNo Comments

Regulate Petroleum Tankers’ Operations, NISE, Senator Tell Government

Inside, News, TRANSPORTATION

The Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers has called on all tiers of government to regulate the design, construction, operations and maintenance of petroleum tankers across the country. As a way of addressing the problem, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Gbenga Ashafa, has also suggested the adoption of a multimodal/intermodal approach to freight and cargo transportation across Nigeria. The NISE said the regulation would ensure the safety of the public particularly with respect to the frequent incidents of fire caused by unsafe petroleum tankers. The institution, a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, noted that the disaster that occurred near the Otedola Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, on June 28, 2018, where a petroleum tanker laden with fuel...