NAHCO Aviance said it has taken delivery of N2 billion state-of-the-arts Ground Support Equipment (GSE) in the last two years. The ground handling company said it has also exported 20 million kilogrammes of cargo mainly agricultural produce between 2016 and 2021.
These were revealed at an online conference organized by the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) with the theme: ‘Unlocking Trade and Export Opportunities in the Agricultural Sector.’
Mrs. Olatokunbo Fagbemi, the Group Managing Director, Nahco Aviance, said that the N2 billion worth of equipment acquired by the ground handling company was for facility upgrade across the nation’s airports.
She stated that the acquisition of these equipments had further positioned NAHCO as a leading ground handling company in the sector, stressing that the management would continue to upgrade its equipment in order to meet the demands of its clients.
According to her, NAHCO handles directly airlines to over 20 countries, including China and India, while the carriers operate to over 51 points beyond across the globe.
Mrs. Fagbemi canvassed for the development of the non-oil sector, stressing that with this, development in Nigeria would be accelerated and more direct jobs would be created.
She explained that NAHCO operates from 16 stations nationwide providing easy connections to domestic and international airports and cities across the world.
She emphasized that NAHCO has five cargo facilities in Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kano and Abuja Airports, noting that cargo airlines are able to connect the world through these airports.
She noted that NAHCO has cordial relationship with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Quarantine and other organisations in the sector for the exportation of goods out of the country.
“We have five cargo facilities and in all these facilities, we are able to carry out export cargo; agricultural and non-agricultural produce. We have maintained all the safety and security standards over the years. We also have our subsidiaries, which are Mainland Company; a full fledged logistics support company and NAHCO Free Trade Zone. The platforms are to drive the export drive of Nigeria. We are ready to collaborate with NBCC and its members as we believe that growth of the economy will be through non-oil export,” she added.
Prince Saheed Lasisi, the Director, Commercial and Business Development, NAHCO Aviance, said that the ground handling company had exported over 20 million kilogrammes of cargo in the last five years, precisely from 2016 till date.
Mr. Lasisi disclosed that a lot of opportunities are available in exportation of cargo by air, but lamented that most exporters are not aware of these opportunities, which would further aid their operations.
He explained further that in the past seven months, NAHCO had commenced direct cargo handling from China, but regretted that the cargo planes return to China empty due to lack of cargo for exportation from Nigeria.
He noted further that the plan of NAHCO was to increase cargo exportation by 40 per cent from third quarter of 2021, but canvassed for the support of the government in actualization of this drive.
The NBCC is a foremost bilateral chamber in Nigeria with the objective to promote trade and investment between the country and Britain since its establishment in 1977. It currently has over 350 members from Nigeria and United Kingdom.