Aviation company ExecuJet announced on Monday that its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Lagos, Nigeria, had been designated a free trade zone (FTZ) by the Nigerian authorities. As a result, parts and services supplied by ExecuJet to its customers in Nigeria’s commercial capital will now be exempt from value added tax (VAT) and customs dues.

The company further announced that these savings will be passed on to its customers. This should result in savings of 10% to 15% or even more on supply and MRO costs.

“Obtaining the FTZ took approximately two years, during which time the ExecuJet team had to demonstrate how the FTZ would benefit Lagos and Nigeria as a whole,” reported ExecuJet VP Africa Gavin Kiggen. “We’re very proud now to announce the approval of the FTZ in Lagos, and the successful negotiation of zero VAT and zero duties for ExecuJet customers.”

As part of the agreement, the company will be allowed to keep stocks of parts for the aircraft manufacturers. This will reduce the time needed to supply such parts to customers in the West African country, which will benefit both regional airlines and business jet operators there.

“The FTZ is the latest addition to our services in Nigeria, after we welcomed a number of manufacturers to our facility in 2017,” he pointed out. “Our MRO in Lagos is on an exciting trajectory, and we expect this to continue as we serve our customers with ever-more competitive pricing to match the quality, performance and efficiency that ExecuJet demonstrates on a local and a global scale.”

ExecuJet is part of the Luxaviation Group. It provides a wide range of aviation services, including the management of privately and commercially registered aircraft, charter, fixed base operations as well as MRO. It has a major facility at South Africa’s Lanseria International Airport, north west of Johannesburg and south west of Pretoria.