Akwa Ibom State   government may have to embark on aggressive marketing campaign to sell its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) airport which is nearing completion.

The government may invested on the centre, considering absence of such a facility in the entire West African sub-region, and hopes to recoup its investments through patronage from Nigerian airlines and airlines across West Africa.

However, Aviation Minister, Mr. Babatunde Omotoba, may have put a lid on this at the just-concluded Aviation and Allied Business Leadership Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, when he told newsmen that the federal government has not given exclusive rights to any particular entity to provide MRO services in Nigeria.

According to him, doing so will negate requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which preaches fair competition among players and potential players in the industry.

Told that Akwa State government was already fretting over the coming of Lufthansa Technik, as part of plans of overall German investment in the country’s aviation sector, Omotoba said the federal government did not sign any agreement with its Akwa Ibom counterpart to the effect that no other entity or state will be precluded from establishing such a facility.

“The federal government cannot restrict development of MRO centres anywhere in the country.  We have German investors who have promised to invest in an MRO centre at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.  We cannot say because Akwa Ibom is building one, then they should go back.

“Besides, we have received requests from several other states that want to build airports.  Ogun is working on one; Delta is building one and there are many more.  Therefore, Akwa Ibom state government may have to provide incentives to get patronage for its MRO centre,” the minister said.

He said the federal government was out to encourage private investments in the aviation sector through its public-private partnership (PPP) policy, having realised the fact that it would no longer be able to fund airport developments due to paucity of funds.He said: “ We need to think big; we don’t have to limit ourselves.  The industry is big enough for everybody to participate.”