Keypoints:
- ECOWAS completes feasibility and investment studies
- ASKY outlines proposed $100m Lomé project
- Abidjan intensifies aircraft maintenance race
ECOWAS is seeking investors for a regional aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre after completing feasibility, financing and investment studies, placing aviation infrastructure at the heart of West Africa’s effort to lower airline costs and retain technical work.
The proposal is significant, but it is not yet a funded construction project. It also enters a competitive field, with ASKY Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines outlining a separate facility in Lomé while Air Cote d’Ivoire advances another maintenance centre in Abidjan.
ECOWAS opens project to investors
Chris Appiah, Director of Transport at the ECOWAS Commission, said during an African Airlines Association SkyConnect Leadership Dialogue that the regional project had been assessed in consultation with airlines and found commercially viable.
Appiah said the feasibility phase and related financing and investment studies had been completed, adding that ECOWAS was open to discussions with potential investors.
Aviation Week first highlighted the emerging regional maintenance drive after reviewing the AFRAA discussion. Africa Briefing examined the publicly available dialogue alongside official records from ECOWAS, ASKY, Ethiopian Airlines and the West African Development Bank.
The distinction between completing studies and delivering the facility is important. ECOWAS has not publicly disclosed a final location, total cost, ownership model, committed financing or construction timetable.
The centre should therefore be described as an investor-ready proposal rather than a project under construction.
The proposal builds on an earlier ECOWAS regional infrastructure plan, which envisaged a public-private maintenance facility serving aircraft, engines and related components through pooled regional demand.
Aviation reforms face national test
The maintenance initiative forms part of a wider ECOWAS effort to make regional flying more affordable.
The bloc said measures abolishing certain air transport taxes and reducing passenger and security charges by 25 percent were due to apply from January 1, 2026.
However, ECOWAS acknowledged that member states must amend national laws, policies and related documents to ensure uniform implementation.
The Commission plans to monitor compliance through a regional economic oversight mechanism. Airlines are also expected to pass cost reductions to passengers through lower fares.
Africa Briefing previously examined the ECOWAS drive to remove aviation taxes and its potential to stimulate regional connectivity.
A local maintenance network could reinforce that agenda by reducing the need for airlines to send aircraft, engines and components to distant facilities.
Two projects, not one
The ECOWAS proposal is separate from the maintenance venture being developed by Togo-based ASKY and Ethiopian Airlines, ASKY’s strategic partner and shareholder.
ASKY chief executive Esayas Woldemariam Hailu told the AFRAA dialogue that the planned Lomé operation would be established as a standalone maintenance organisation.
He outlined a proposed initial investment of about $100m, including two hangars, component workshops and aircraft parking.
The figure and configuration were presented during the public discussion. They have not been confirmed through a separate joint announcement, financing agreement or construction contract from ASKY and Ethiopian.
The Lomé initiative should therefore be described as planned or under development, rather than fully financed or under construction. Publicly available material does not confirm that funding has closed, regulatory approvals have been secured or a final delivery timetable has been adopted.
The commercial case is nevertheless strengthened by ASKY’s growing fleet. In a July 21, 2026 fleet announcement, the airline said two new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft had increased its fleet to 17 aircraft, including eight MAX 8s.
That official figure corrects Aviation Week’s reference to ASKY operating 17 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Ethiopian brings technical capacity
Ethiopian Airlines would bring established maintenance expertise to the Lomé venture.
Its technical division provides airframe, engine and component services. Ethiopian also expanded its Addis Ababa maintenance facilities in 2025 with a component workshop, central warehouse and two additional hangars.
The proposed partnership would combine ASKY’s regional fleet requirements with Ethiopian’s experience maintaining aircraft for its own operations and third-party customers.
For ASKY, a facility closer to its Lomé base could reduce ferry flights, shorten aircraft downtime and limit the foreign-currency costs associated with sending work to Addis Ababa or other overseas centres.
But the project will still require certification, skilled engineers, specialist tooling, spare-parts supplies, manufacturer support and long-term airline contracts. A hangar alone does not create a viable maintenance business.
Abidjan raises regional stakes
Competition is also emerging from Cote d’Ivoire.
The West African Development Bank approved CFA35bn on March 26, 2026 for an Air Cote d’Ivoire aircraft maintenance centre in Abidjan.
BOAD said the regional facility would support aircraft maintenance in West and Central Africa. The bank has also published environmental and resettlement documentation for the project, showing that it has moved into detailed planning.
Unlike the ECOWAS concept, the Abidjan project is linked to a named airline and has publicly approved development financing.
The initiatives do not necessarily have to compete directly. West Africa could support specialised centres serving different aircraft families, repair categories and airline markets.
However, overlapping full-service facilities could compete for the same contracts, certified engineers and component supply chains. That risk makes regional coordination more important than political prestige.
Scale will decide success
Commercial viability will depend on whether the proposed facilities can secure sufficient airline demand.
Investors will want anchor customers, long-term maintenance contracts and a clear understanding of which aircraft types and services each centre will support.
They will also examine the availability of certified technicians, spare parts, specialist equipment and regulatory approvals from national and international aviation authorities.
ECOWAS must explain whether its initiative will involve a single regional centre, a public-private partnership or a network connecting existing maintenance providers.
It must also show how the project would complement, rather than duplicate, the airline-backed developments in Lomé and Abidjan.
What happens next?
The next credible milestone will be publication of the ECOWAS investment package, including the proposed location, cost, ownership structure, customer commitments and delivery timetable.
ASKY and Ethiopian must also provide clearer information on financing, approvals, procurement and construction. Until then, the reported $100m cost and two-hangar design remain indicative plans outlined by ASKY’s chief executive.
If the projects are coordinated around genuine airline demand, they could retain technical spending, improve aircraft availability and create skilled employment.
If they are driven mainly by competing hub ambitions, West Africa risks developing expensive facilities without sufficient workloads.
The region does not simply need more hangars. It needs maintenance businesses capable of winning customers, meeting international standards and operating profitably.
