World Bank boosts Nigeria's air safety

The project aims to create a safe and secure environment for air transport in West and Central Africa (WCA) that will enable African airlines to competitively access regional and worldwide markets to support sustainable economic growth.

"In Nigeria, like in the rest of WCA, Civil Aviation Authorities are the guardian of aviation safety and security without which the aviation sector cannot achieve sustainable growth," said Pierre Pozzo di Borgo, the World Bank Task Team Leader of the project.

"By joining the West and Central Africa Air Transport Safety and Security Program, Nigeria is reaffirming its commitments to grant its Civil Aviation Authority with the necessary administrative and financial autonomy to fulfill its regulatory and oversight role in a rapidly expanding sector of its economy."

The first phase of this program was approved by the Bank's Board in April 2006 for activities in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinea and Mali.

At the request of the Nigerian Government, the World Bank initiated this second phase which will help Nigeria address serious lapses in aviation security and safety following three fatal crashes of passenger airliners in 2005 and 2006.

The West and Central Africa Air Transport Safety and Security program will improve Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority's (NCAA) compliance with International Civil Aviation Organisation's (ICAO) safety and security standards as well as enhance Nigeria's main international airports' compliance with ICAO's security standards.

The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology are the four agencies that will benefit from project financing to address aviation safety and security issues in the country.

The project activities will focus on an institutional study of each aviation agency, aircraft and aircrew recertification exercise, Port Harcourt and Abuja airports' operational perimeter fences and patrol routes construction and rehabilitation, and installation of wind shear detection systems for Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano airports.

Article published courtesy of BuaNews