Mr Michael Ohiani, the Acting Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), says safety of vehicles at the Lagos International Airport’s multi-level car park is the sole responsibility of the managers of the facility.
He said this in a statement on Tuesday, in Abuja by Manji Yarling, Acting Head, Media and Publicity at ICRC.
According to him, Ohiani made the clarification at a joint monitoring inspection by the ICRC and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to assess the safety situation of vehicles parked by the general public.
Yarling said that Mr Sadiku Rafindadi, Director of Commercial and Business Development, led the FAAN delegation on behalf of the Managing Director, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu.
He said that reports of the unsafe nature of the airport’s parking facility necessitated the inspection for an on-the-spot assessment.
“The facility was described by some as ‘a den of thieves’ in view of three alleged incidences that took place there in the last week of December 2021.
“The ICRC which has as part of its responsibilities, ensuring regulatory compliance in all Public Private Partnership (PPP) transactions, undertook the visit for a first-hand assessment and to seek solutions.
“However, the visit to the facility revealed that only one incident had been reported, in which case the victim, whose Lexus GX 460 was vandalised, had been compensated and the missing vehicle accessories replaced,” he said.
Ohiani, who was taken on a tour of the facility managed by Seymour Aviation Limited, insisted that safety of the vehicles was the sole responsibility of the concessionaire.
“Because car parking services is the primary amenity being provided by the managers at a fee, vehicles could not be said to be ‘Parked at Owners’ Risk’, as claimed by the service provider.
“If I park my car it is not at my own risk, provided I pay, but if I come here and I park and I do not pay, it is a different ball game.
“I am very happy though to know that you have an active insurance policy,” the director-general added.
He advised the concessionaire to invest in the Parking Guidance System (PGS), a technology where car owners upon making payment, were allotted specific slots on a particular floor with the assistance of smart cameras.
He charged the airport authority and the concessionaire to expand the CCTV camera coverage to cover blinds spots, and also increase the number of persons on physical surveillance.
However, Rafindadi, said that some of the news reports or stories peddled about the airport were not a true reflection of the situation on ground.
He said that following the incident, an emergency meeting was held and certain decisions were reached to curb any future occurrences.
“Some of the recommendations from the meeting includes: the expansion of CCTV coverage at the car park, connection of the camera feeds to the MMA Terminal 2 CCTV network and improvement of physical surveillance.
“Other measures are intelligence sharing with airport security, prompt reportage of incidences at the car park and addressing other pending cases of vehicle vandalism among others,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Francis Ikenga, MD/CEO of Seymour Aviation Limited, managers of the concession, said that there was a subsisting insurance policy that covered all those who use the car park.
Ikenga reiterated that the victim of the reported incident had already been compensated and the vandalised vehicle parts replaced.
He also said that the car park focuses mainly on safety, security and revenue, pointing out that if safety and security were not met, then revenue would not be taken.
Ikenga commended the ICRC for the good work being done adding that if sustained, many Nigerians would reap the benefits.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ICRC was established to regulate PPP endeavours of the Federal Government aimed at addressing Nigeria’s physical infrastructure deficit which hampers economic development.
