FlightCom Magazine 35MRO facilities, business aviation
establishments and activities, presence of
large scheduled carriers, etc. This becomes
even more disturbing when considering the
expected liberalisation and boom in intra-
Africa economic activities, as the increase
in air traffic serving these emerging markets
will place additional demand for aircraft
support facilities in the region.
Currently, Africa has an MRO market
of three billion USD, expected to rise to by
0.6% to 3.1 billion USD by 2027, according
to the Oliver Wymann Global Fleet & MRO
Market Forecast Summary 2017-2027. As
of 2017, Africa has a total of 1,051 aircraft
consisting of 447 narrow-body aircraft, 167
wide-body aircraft, 143 regional jets, and
294 turboprops. This is forecast to grow
to 2,155 aircraft, consisting of 618 narrow-
bodies, 277 wide-body aircraft, 45 regional
jets and 164 turboprops by 2027; totalling
1,104 new aircraft.
EFFORTS WITHOUT RESULT
In 2014, Airbus Helicopters announced
its partnership with International Aviation
Services, based in Cote d’Ivoire, for the
certification of West Africa’s first Airbus
Helicopters maintenance centre in Abidjan.
There are about 670 helicopters in Africa.
130 are in West Africa, of which a significant
number operate in Nigeria.
Furthermore, in late 2016, Ethiopian
and ASKY hinted at setting up an MRO
in ASKY’s base in Lome, Togo, to handle
Boeing and Bombardier aircraft, although
this is yet to be realised.
In Ghana, an MRO is still at proposal
stage, said, Benard Nyavor, former Airport
Manager at Accra Kotoka International
Airport. Edmund Agyekum, a pilot in
Accra, said, “All our maintenance is done
outside the country. There is a rehabilitated
airport in Tamalein, northern Ghana, and
authorities want to utilise it as an MRO.”
Details of the recent proposal to set
up facilities in Lagos involve the setting
up of African Aircraft Leasing Company
(AALC), Aircraft OEM Maintenance
Repairs and Overhaul (AOMRO), African
Aircraft Spares Parts Centre (AASC), and
Aggregated Service Solutions Provider
(AASP), which the promoters hope will
change the landscape of aviation in Africa.
“We intend to acquire and lease at least
200 new aircraft within the next 20 years,”
said Mrs Tokumbo Fagbemi, the Executive
Director of Spring Fountain Infrastructure
Limited.
She called on the Nigerian government
to create the right environment for more
people to fly and the proposed airlinesupport facilities to become a reality. She
equally called on government to “provide a
dedicated space where the MRO could be
located,” as well as “a Special Economic
Free Trade Zone (SEFTZ) for the MRO and
the Spare Parts Company.”
“We need government to commit today
to ‘take’ flying to the masses by making air
travel affordable and convenient,” she said.
Mrs Fagbemi, who announced the
planned investment in Lagos at a joint
training symposium with Boeing and the
Aviation and Aerospace Development
Foundation (AADF), emphasised that the
proposed investment will require local skills
in diverse fields, ranging from piloting,
aviation engineering, aviation economics,
and aviation law.
Sales Director, Boeing Company, Larry
Tolliver, who was also at the event, said
Boeing understands that close cooperation
with its customers enables Boeing to comeA bright light in West Africa’s
MRO landscape is the Execujet
centre in Lagos, which mainly
supports business aviation.
ASKY hinted at setting up an MRO in Lome,
Togo, to handle Boeing and Bombardier
aircraft, although this is yet to be realised.