Land use administration at Airports: An insight to Mallam Aminu Kano International Airports, Nigeria

Abstract

Land use can be controlled more effectively when zoning is applied to new airports and existing airports in still under-developed areas. Unfortunately, local development decisions are often made based on considerations, which may ignore both the need to minimize the impact of aviation noise on the community and the importance of protecting the airport from encroachment by incompatible development. The most common local issues are the return that the owners or developers want from their properties, the local government’s interest in increasing tax base, and the interest of the residents in maintaining or improving the value of their homes. For the airport environs, the cumulative total of such local decisions can seriously degrade a balanced, comprehensive planning approach and development policy. The desired goal is effective land-use planning and controls, based on objective criteria, to minimize the amount of noise-sensitive development close to the airports, while allowing for other productive uses of land. It is in this regard that a comprehensive land administration document is necessary which is a collaboration of the Airport Authority, the Local Authority and the Community. The land, water and survey department of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) is vested with the responsibility of land-use, planning, control and administration. Land issues are dealt with based on International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.