Sodexam: Airports, Meteorological and Aeronautical Activities in Côte d’Ivoire

Interview with Georges Philippe Ezaley, General Director of Sodexam

Since 2011, Côte d’Ivoire has changed drastically. It has experienced an economic growth of 9% or more and for some years it has been quite viable. You are at the entry point of Côte d’Ivoire so it is fair to say you have benefited from this economic growth. What has happened in these past three years in terms of your projects?

Sodexam has three essential projects. The first is the management of airports, airports other than Abidjan, which are managed by Aeria. These are regional airports such as San Pédro, Bouaké, Korhogo, Man, Odienné, Daloa as well as the Eastern airports such as Bouna and Bondoukou. Considering all of these platforms together, after the crisis we went through, there were certain airports we did not make use of and where security was poorly implemented. These were Korhogo, Odienné, Bouaké and Man. These are the airports of the Western region. The other airports such as Daloa, Yamoussoukro, San Pédro operated with official, irregular flights, especially San Pédro. Since the 2011 economic crisis, one of the great successes was an important tool of national air travel- Air Côte d’Ivoire. This is an important success story and it is an established company and is still working well today. This is a regional and national company connecting cities such as Dakar and Lomé. One of the requirements, a strong government recommendation, is that Côte d’Ivoire has domestic flights. This is an enormous challenge for Sodexam which manages the regional airports. We are also delighted with this challenge, as it allows us to tell clients about important places and to show them that we know how to run our airports.

This is the strategy we have implemented in all airports of Côte d’Ivoire. It includes the whole country as there are airports planned for the centre, the north, the east and the west. Apart from the challenge of welcoming clients, another relates to renewing airport infrastructure, refurbishing and modernising the airports. For almost two years we have been working on this project. We must still work for another two years to ensure that domestic flights advance (even in the sub-regions). We started on this task back in 2013, outlining an investment program for this entire platform which has since risen globally to around 52 thousand CFA francs. It is a global affair and we therefore wanted all of these airports to welcome domestic flights in the best way possible. It was necessary to put in place this program and to approach clients and to meet with companies from within Côte d’Ivoire, covering all the destination areas. We have put in place a three-stage program, incorporating an emergency stage dealing with anything that is security-related within the airports, which will allow Côte d’Ivoire to get up and run without any worries. We also want to make it more comfortable for our passengers. The second stage is to reinforce the first stage and the third stage is to develop. So those are the different stages of our investment program. It has been estimated that the first stage will require investments of around 9 billion. After two years we had to ask for national or international funding to develop the emergency program. This will be conducted in accordance with the solution offered by our European businesses to have certain necessary equipment in the airports. We look to European businesses to provide us with flight equipment and security. Equally, there are local companies involved in the financing side of things who have enabled us, after two years, to arrive at the situation where in two weeks time we will be ready to welcome Air Côte d’Ivoire flights. According to their programs, the first airports to receive regular commercial flights will be San Pédro, Bouaké and Korhogo. They will receive flights daily. This is a very big and exciting thing for us.

We have not had any clients for ten years. It is true to say the airports were there with occasional flights as well as official flights. However, as we now have a fast form of transport, we have clients and investors we work with and we can offer them all areas of Côte d’Ivoire for development, not just in Abidjan. You can come and go easily, which is part of the program we have put in place. You can get to Paris from Abidjan and on to San Pédro, etc… After 8 billion of investments we have been able to recently put this program in place. We want to have safety measures so we can fly at night and eventually have a control tower in Korhogo, as at present there is just the runway there. We would like to install good technical control measures and security vehicles- minimal things to make Air Cote d’Ivoire’s flights more efficient. The next stage for our flights in Côte d’Ivoire concerns Odienné and Man. Odienné is in the north and Man is in the west. Then we also have Bouna. This program is being developed to equip our airports, so that by 2015 they will all be fully functional. One part of the financing of this program is open to partners or investors.

What kind of investors are you looking for as you mentioned earlier that you have European businesses as suppliers?

They are our suppliers.

What kind of partners and investors do you have?

We are not limited to just one type of investor or partner. We have other projects such as building an international airport in San Pédro. San Pédro is an extremely rich area and there is strong potential for developing tourism. Besides the airport which is already there, we have created a project which may be of interest to investors. Equally in Youmassoukro, the political capital of Côte d’Ivoire, we have other types of investment for different operations. We are not closed to one particular type of investor, we encourage any kind of cooperation.

Are your financial investors stakeholders in the hotel industry, shops or businesses?

Anything is possible in terms of our regional airports. As far as Abidjan is concerned, there are other opportunities. Sodexam does not manage the airports directly. Aeria manages them directly and we ensure that there is authority and that a convention exists between Aeria and the State, respecting the investors. So, there are a lot of opportunities to invest in, regarding the aeronautical industry. There are always things to be done and opportunities in which to invest. Aeria always needs financial support. We are also managing an important project in Abidjan of 1 billion CFA francs so there are a lot of opportunities to invest there too, in the development program which will be delivered next year, in 2015. In terms of projects, after the first stage we must reinforce it. We have created the minimum. This is a project covering different cities such as Bouaké and Korhogo. The third stage is to develop these airports. In terms of finance, we are starting domestic and national flights; anything can happen.

For those who want to look at your long term vision and who do not know Côte d’Ivoire in depth, they think it’s fine to invest in Abidjan but why would they invest in the regional airports? Do you have something concrete to say to these people who do not have any prior knowledge? What are your projections?

As mentioned earlier, Côte d’Ivoire is a country experiencing great economic growth in terms of figures. Opportunities here are varied and diverse. I have already said that in our sector there are opportunities for investors, there is potential in Côte d’Ivoire. We want to centralise the development and to maximise the potential profit in each region. Côte d’Ivoire gives possibilities to people arriving from elsewhere, coming to Abidjan and Korhogo where there are lots of things to do, especially in terms of international tourism. We created a business plan for the development of domestic flights and they should be aware that they are helping the development of Côte d’Ivoire. The potential for development is there, which could interest people. Côte d’Ivoire is supported by the State. The State helps us and controls the majority of Côte d’Ivoire which is a plus point for anyone who decides to come to Côte d’Ivoire. Everyone looks to travel somewhere these days within an hour to an hour and a half. Côte d’Ivoire is becoming essential. In the sub regions they have put in place a strategy for direct flights from Abidjan to all other African capitals. These are our first customers after a year to a year and a half.

It is a success story.

Exactly. It is a success story in terms of its development via the infrastructures which have been put in place.

At the moment, the view of the United States and Europe is that unfortunately Côte d’Ivoire is situated in Western Africa where there is Ebola and they do not trust this area at the moment as an area to invest in, to travel to or for tourism – it is not their current priority.

It is true that the source of Ebola is in the West but it is spreading to other parts of the world so it is becoming more of an international concern. The problem is happening in our neighbouring countries from the sub-regions but there is more and more international awareness. There will hopefully be vaccines available within the next 3 months.

Have you changed anything?

No. There is not Ebola in Côte d’Ivoire. We have more or less closed the borders with those countries at risk. So far there has not been anyone who has declared themselves as having Ebola in Côte d’Ivoire. I am an optimist. It is not just in Africa where there are people contaminated. I read recently that there potentially will be vaccines available. We are not too pessimistic; we are doing what we can.

In terms of your vision for development, what would you like to achieve mid-term? How will you succeed in achieving it in two or three years time? What are your objectives and projects and if you had a magic wand to reinforce State provisions?

The ideal scenario would be to provide other countries with an infrastructure of modern airports. To reaffirm that national air transport will become integrated regionally as well as nationally so that you can travel between Abidjan, Bouaké, Korhogo and Mali. This is all possible. This is due there being a strong community link between these countries and Côte d’Ivoire. We would like to have a secure infrastructure, to operate international flights from our airports, to ensure passengers are comfortable and safe and that the planes are safe. These airports are the doorway to our development and we want to put airports in economic areas- that is our vision. In these projects, the regional councils, town halls and investors all play an important part and contribute to these developments.

What competitive advantages does Côte d’Ivoire offer compared to other countries of the sub-regions?

Côte d’Ivoire, geographically speaking, is at the heart of Western Africa. Our role is naturally as a sort of hub. This is one of the success stories of Côte d’Ivoire and of the airport in Abidjan. With the economic growth we experienced, neighbouring countries have benefited from some of this growth. Côte d’Ivoire is the centre of distribution. The economic development of this country has a positive impact on the sub regional countries. Côte d’Ivoire is the economic leader of this area of Africa and it is very important for the other countries. There are important institutions involved in air transport in Côte d’Ivoire. There are flights in and out which means we are in a position to observe everything. The role of the hub is to connect the sub regions. We must keep the air traffic volumes up. The neighbouring countries can come here every day as can people from Europe. The economic activity is here and so investors come, even African investors which are as equally important. The third thing concerns Sodexam. I could be mistaken but I do not know of a country in this area which has as many domestic flights. We have at least 14 airports. Côte d’Ivoire is becoming the entrance and exit point for all of the sub regions via these airports. Research is being done and jobs are being created. We currently have lots of things going on all at the same time. Now is the time for investors to invest.

So the message is that investors should invest now to benefit from the economic growth and contribute to Côte d’Ivoire’s development.

If it wasn’t for the crisis, all of these countries could have been emerging countries but this could still be possible in six years time for example. Côte d’Ivoire is an open country, rich in agriculture. It has a lot of potential.

Is there something important concerning the weather that you wanted to talk about? Do you need investments for this area too?

Of course. Weather networks were equally affected by the crisis. We must rebuild them and even expand them into different areas. The climate is important as it affects agriculture and it is another sector which Sodexam manages. We must have a development plan.

Do you have partners in this field?

Rather, we have investors. We are forming an international partnership with Météo France to work on our networks. They will work along side us with our development, especially on commercialisation of our meteorological products. We produce and we sell but we need insurance and media, radio and television coverage. There are equally lots of things to be done in this area.

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