The Federal Government has sealed a 30-year concession deal, handing over the Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo International Airport to PH Airport Company Limited.
The move is part of plans to revamp the country’s struggling airports through private-sector investment, with assurances that no worker will lose their job.
With this move, the government has taken another significant step towards repositioning the nation’s aviation sector for improved efficiency, infrastructure development and enhanced private-sector participation.
The agreement, signed in Abuja on Thursday, marks a milestone in the administration’s effort to attract investment, improve operations and unlock commercial value from the airports.
In a statement, the Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Tunde Moshood, said the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, led the government delegation, while PH Airport’s Group Managing Director, Eyo Asuquo, represented the concessionaire.
The signing followed a closed-door meeting between Keyamo and leaders of aviation unions, who had long been wary that privatisation could threaten employment and conditions of service.
Ben Nnabue, President of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), said the unions endorsed the deal after receiving assurances that no aviation worker would be dismissed as a result of the concession.
Keyamo said President Bola Tinubu had directed that workers’ welfare be protected, with existing conditions of service maintained throughout the arrangement, the statement said.
The government said it negotiated with the unions for more than six months after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the airport’s business case in November 2025.
It further said PH Airport Limited pledged to upgrade infrastructure, raise operational standards and expand airport-related commercial activity, positioning Port Harcourt as a gateway for commerce and investment in the Gulf of Guinea.
Asuquo said the company’s plans would generate additional employment rather than reduce headcount, including through the development of an “airport city.”
The concessionaire will face performance reviews every five years, and the government retains the right to reclaim the facility if the agreed standards are not met, according to the Minister.
The deal follows the government’s earlier handover of Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu to Aero Alliance Limited under a public-private partnership, as part of a wider push to bring private capital and management discipline into airport operations.
Port Harcourt had previously struggled to attract bidders, but officials said renewed investor interest and the approved business case helped revive the transaction.
The government views concessions as a way to modernise terminals, improve passenger experience and reduce the fiscal burden of loss-making airports.
The agreement shifts Port Harcourt International Airport into a new phase of private management, with investment expected to focus on infrastructure, service quality and commercial development.
