The African Civil Aviation Centre of Excellence (CoE) is expected to commence operations in July next year, a feasibility study conducted through collaboration between Tampere University of Finland and the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) has revealed.
The recently concluded study is a result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed more than two years ago between the two universities to construct and establish an aviation centre at Keetmanshoop.
“According to the findings presented in the report, we are pleased to inform you that for the CoE Stakeholders, it is a very feasible option to move forward designing a more detailed business plan concerning the implementation of the African Civil Aviation Centre of Excellence in Namibia,” NUST Vice Chancellor Dr Erold Naomab said while presenting the report to the Minister of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa, on Friday.
The report further outlines the next step of the project which will see the finalisation of a business plan that will deal with the financial projections in more detail.
“So, the business plan actually runs concurrently which means that some of the critical elements that will inform the business plan are already contained. So it is not a sequential meaning that going forward here on we anticipate by the end of this year we anticipate that business plan will be in its final form,” Naomab said.
He further explained that once the business plan is finalised and adopted, it will have to go through the required processes such as ministerial and cabinet approval.
After the approvals, it can then be rolled out to potential investors; however, some of the key aspects of the project are already undergoing implementation.
“So, there are institution-to-institution engagements, private sector to private sector where they discovered that things can start to move already and certain things have already started to move and that’s the delight of this very important bilateral exchange between Finland and I’m happy to inform you that some of the important elements are already on the move,” reports Naomab.
The centre is set to provide aviation training such as pilot and technician training, as well as air traffic controllers and cabin crew.
The report estimates that in its first year, the centre will be able to train 114 people and 766 in the year 2028.
In terms of revenue, the centre is projected to generate N$3,984,700 in the year 2024 and N$59,898,000 by the year 2028.
“We can therefore conclude that, with less than a 10% market share (€8.6 million [N$180 million] training revenue), a planned CoE would be profitable when compared to the estimated expenses. It seems that this would also leave enough room for the payback of the investments,” the report reads.
Boeing estimates that in the next 20 years, there will be a need for education and training of approximately 20,000 new pilots, 21,000 aircraft maintenance staff and 26,000 cabin crew staff and 5,000 new air navigation professionals for the African market.
On top of this comes a need for further training for the existing professionals. These will generate an estimated market of more than US$1.3 billion in twenty years.
