Key Points
-
Keyamo hosts Chinese envoy and COMAC executives for aviation talks.
-
Meeting targets Nigeria’s airline fleet renewal and sector reforms.
-
COMAC offers opportunities for cheaper aircraft alternatives.
On Tuesday, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, met with China’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun, and top executives from the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) in a high-level meeting to strengthen strategic aviation partnerships. The talks, which took place at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, were mostly about providing planes, finding ways to finance them, and working together on technical issues over the long term.
According to a report by Vanguard news, Keyamo, who was named to the position by President Bola Tinubu in August 2023, said that the federal government is focusing on partnerships that could help domestic airlines that are having trouble with high operating costs and old fleets. He said that Nigeria’s top airlines, like Air Peace, Ibom Air, and Arik Air, need newer, more efficient planes to stay competitive.
Keyamo welcomes the Chinese ambassador and COMAC executives
The minister said that talks with COMAC are especially important because the company’s C919 narrow-body plane and ARJ21 regional jet are both becoming more popular in Asian and Latin American markets. Keyamo told reporters after the meeting that “we need affordable and efficient alternatives.” He also said that working with COMAC could help Nigerian airlines save money and increase their capacity.
Ambassador Cui Jianchun said that the meeting was another step toward strengthening ties between China and Nigeria. He pointed to Beijing’s history of funding infrastructure, rail development, and energy projects as examples. He said that China is ready to help Nigeria modernize its aviation industry and that COMAC wants to become a serious competitor to Airbus and Boeing around the world.
Partnerships that help aviation grow strategically
Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd.), an aviation analyst and former commandant of the Lagos airport, says that Nigeria’s outreach to COMAC shows how important it is for the industry to diversify. Ojikutu said, “For years, our airlines have been stuck in the high-cost cycle of Boeing and Airbus.” “Looking into Chinese aircraft options is a step in the right direction.”
Keyamo also hinted at a bigger partnership that would include training, maintenance, and the transfer of technology. He says that Nigeria wants to build up its own resources in line with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) international standards, which are watched over by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Nigeria wants to work with COMAC to grow its fleet
The Nigerian market is a good place for COMAC to start doing business in Africa, where interest in short- and medium-haul aircraft is growing as more people want to fly. Experts say that Africa’s airlines will need hundreds of new planes over the next 20 years, and Nigeria, which has the most people in Africa, is a big prize.
Keyamo said that working with China on a bilateral basis is not about replacing current partners but about giving people more choices. “We want deals that are good for our airlines and our economy,” he said. People in the aviation industry think that technical talks will happen in the next few months, and they may be able to get loans from Chinese banks like the Export-Import Bank of China.
The meeting is part of a series of changes led by Keyamo, such as making passenger services more digital, upgrading airports, and making safety oversight better. Officials said that the talks with COMAC and the Chinese envoy could be the start of a new chapter in Nigeria’s aviation diplomacy.
