From Suleiman Amagbor, in Lagos
Exporters of perishable cargoes from across Nigeria would soon have their goods lifetime extended with the planned arrival of the digital cold storage system for such commodities at the Murtala Mohammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2) in Lagos.
Operators of the MMA2, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), on Monday announced the plans to acquire the equipment and described it as the first in any of Nigeria’s airports.
Over the years, exporters of perishable goods, mostly food items, have called for investment in cold storage facilities at the nation’s airports especially following the multiplication of cargo airports across Nigeria.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, in March had affirmed that Nigeria needs appropriate investments in order to halt the loss of an estimated N3.6 trillion worth of perishable goods lost annually due to lack of story facilities.
The Head Aeronautical and Cargo Services, Remi Jibodu, disclosed that the new storage system aims to meet the growing need to preserve perishable cargo passing through airports within the country.
He said “Aircraft belly cargo is subject to availability. An airline with a full flight has a certain amount of cargo it can carry. Sometimes, the airline cannot carry all the perishable cargoes.
“Secondly, for those who want to spread their businesses to other states in Nigeria but are skeptical because there is no cold storage to store their products, they can now be confident that our digital cold storage would address these problems.”
According to Jibodu, MMA2 is creating an opportunity for seamless cargo business operations adding that the innovation would increase the number of cargo-related businesses and grow business revenue for MMA2 simultaneously.
“We are very particular about innovation, excellence, and efficiency. These have been our guiding principles. Having operated as a terminal for 17 years, there are so many things we have pioneered in the industry. At this time, we are advancing our vision in Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking further, he asserted that “We have never been out of power for more than 20 seconds. We have value-added services.
The passengers have been patronizing us for the past 17 years, and therefore we can’t continue to do the same things. We had to find out the agitations and growing needs of the passengers.”
