The aviation minister says the investment is aimed at modernising Nigeria’s busiest airport and strengthening Lagos’ position in regional and international air travel.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the sum of $500 million for the modernisation of the Lagos airport, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo said on Monday.
The investment will go into upgrading infrastructures at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, and support efforts to position Lagos as a major aviation hub in Africa, Mr Keyamo told participants at the opening of the Invest Lagos 3.0 Summit in Lagos.
“The president has approved $500 million, not what he borrowed, but from the sweat of the savings of the country to rebuild the airport in Lagos,” he said.
“It is turning that airport that is 50 years old into a marvellous hub. You’ll be very proud of what you see in Lagos in the next 22 months,” he added.
The Lagos airport, the busiest in Nigeria, handles roughly 67 per cent of the international passenger traffic in the country, but has been bogged down by overcrowding, infrastructural decay and years of neglect, making redevelopment an urgency for the government.
Among immediate plans are the reconstruction of the Terminal One building – built and commissioned in 1979 – construction of new access roads, and the redesigning of the entire airport to make it measure up to international standards.
The upgrade will also link both the domestic and the international terminals to the existing Lagos rail network, which currently terminates at Ikeja, towards making Lagos a major aviation hub on the continent.
“We are working with the Lagos State Government to extend that rail line all the way to the international airport,” he said.
Mr Keyamo added that the city’s geographical location confers on it the advantage of connecting to Europe, the Middle East and parts of South America within six hours, adding that improving airport infrastructure will enhance Lagos’ competitiveness and support the government’s broader aviation development agenda.
The minister urged investors to leverage the opportunities in the aviation sector, including projects that are being developed by both the federal and the Lagos State Governments.
He disclosed plans for an airport to be situated in the Lekki corridor, and called for greater private-sector participation in aviation infrastructure development.
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