NAHCO to upgrade equipment with N4bn; lauds  clients’ steadfastness

NIGERIAN Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc will be upgrading some ground handling equipment with N4bn to improve services, the company has told it’s clients and partners.

This is as it has attributed the continuous support and of its clients to its professional conduct as an organisation, stating that it is the major reason the company has grown over the years despite the myriads of challenges in the aviation sector.

Chairman of the company, Dr. Seinde Fadeni made these known at the weekend during a dinner organised for the handling company’s clients and partners, which cuts across clearing agents, airlines, Nigeria police, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs Service and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria among others.

Fadeni agreed that there are numerous challenges limiting the growth of handling business in Nigeria but assured that as a leading handling company in the country, NAHCO would continue to deliver quality and excellent services to its clients.

The Chairman, who listened keenly to all the comments by the clients and stakeholders, expressed that some of the challenges being faced by the airlines and clearing agents were beyond the company, but assured that NAHCO would collaborate with FAAN and other major stakeholders to address the bottlenecks in the sub-sector.

He also observed that some of the ground support equipment are ageing, and that the current Board of Directors had approved for the Management the sum of N4 billion for equipment upgrade which he said would be delivered to the company very soon.

He said: “we are trying as much as possible to aggressively improve on the equipment, which we have now. Some of our equipment are as old as 20 years and above. We are working hard to ensure that we serve our clients better.

“However, we know that we can’t have it all 100 percent, but we are consistently working to ensure we satisfy our customers. Today is the night of our customers. We know they are kings, and we must treat them as such.”

In his speech, Mr. Indranil Gupta, NAHCO’s Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, told the gathering that the handling company had performed the foundation stone laying of its export processing centre at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.

Gupta said construction work would soon start on the structure, which is being conceptualised as a two- storey building, adding that all the facilities at the centre would be automated for seamless transaction.

He said: “on the monument gate, we understand your challenge as clearing agents, but we must also listen to the concerns of FAAN, too. I am sure FAAN doesn’t want to make life difficult for its clients. They know why they locked up the gate, but I can assure you that we will discuss with them soon.”

Earlier, some of the clients commended NAHCO for making them top priority and assured the company that they would continue to work with the company.

Mr. Segun Musa, a leading Clearing Agent, and an executive of the association, lauded the company for fostering a good relationship with its customers, promising that it would continue to be a ‘’partnership in progress.” and appealed to the management to improve on its equipment, especially those at its export warehouse.

Also, Murphy Thomas, Managing Director, Everspeed Nigeria Limited, lauded NAHCO for addressing the complaints of clients regularly. While Mr. Kingsley Nwokoma, the Managing Director of Cargolux, observed that the ease-of-doing business scheme of the Federal Government was still being confronted with some challenges in the sub-sector.

He decried that the layers of security agencies at the export warehouse was giving the clearing agents some challenges and asked the management to address the challenges through a meeting with the various security agencies at the export warehouse, reiterating that security checks should be one-stop search.

In his closing remarks, the Group Executive Director, Commercial and Business Development, Prince Saheed Lasisi assured all present of the Managements resolve to address all issues raised with all the seriousness.

‘’We will not relax until we are sure that our clients are happy, and we are open to further suggestions’’, he concluded.

NAHCO Plc is a Nigerian diversified group with interests in air cargo services, aircraft handling, passenger facilitation, crew transportation, aviation training, airport free zone and logistics. The company currently serves several customers across 19 airports within Nigeria, and handles the larger market share of domestic, foreign and cargo airlines.

NAHCO was privatized by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2005 and was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2006. It is one of the fastest growing stocks at NGX, with a gain of over 175% in recent time.