Keyamo Defends N712bn Budget For Lagos Airport Renovation

The Minister for Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has defended the proposed N712 billion for the renovation of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos project.

The clarification followed widespread criticism over the proposed amount for the project which some have said to be outrageous.

Keyamo noted that the renovation was necessary to modernise the country’s busiest airport, accommodate surging passenger traffic and meet international world standard.

In a long statement on the minister’s X account on Sunday, the minister gave a breakdown detailing what the project involves and the areas it will cover.

Part of the statement read, “To further enunciate our plans for the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMI) in Lagos, let me further clarify the approval we secured from the Federal Executive Council Meeting last week.
“There are two international terminals in Lagos. Terminal one is that old building directly facing the long stretch of road leading to the airport built & commissioned in 1979 by the Obasanjo-led Military regime.

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“It has two wings known as WING D and WING E. Terminal two is the new building on the right-hand side as you drive into the airport, started by President Jonathan’s govt. with a Chinese loan, completed during President Buhari’s govt (with the loan) & made operational during President Tinubu’s first one month in office.

“Due to years of neglect and because the traffic over time quadrupled beyond its capacity, the building & facilities at Terminal one became totally decrepit. We have been engaged in some patch jobs over the years just to make it a bit presentable.

“Now, shorn of all the rhetoric, what we simply want to do is to totally strip down that building, including the entire roof (leaving only the carcass), then re-design/reconfigure it and build a brand-new airport for the nation to meet modern, international standards that can also cater for the increased traffic. Both wings D and E would be affected.”

The minister further noted that, “As for the new Terminal (Two), we got approval to expand the building and the Apron (where aircraft park for boarding and disembarkation) in order to accommodate more aircraft, including wide-body aircraft. That is not all; we are constructing two new independent ring roads in and out of the airport (one for departure and one for arrival) and a bridge that will take travellers directly to the upper floor of Terminal Two Departure lounge, instead of lifting our luggage up the escalators when we are departing. It is a design error we intend to correct.

“We have also introduced smart solutions to the new designs in order to deliver a smart airport to Nigerians that can compete with any airport in the world. In all, Nigerians will be proud of what we are going to deliver. And take note, this will not be done by a loan from anywhere, but by the Renewed Hope infrastructure Development Fund, which is one of the gains made from the removal of subsidies.

“As the work progresses, we will be inviting the press, civil society groups, members of the National Assembly and interested Nigerians on regular tours of the facility to monitor the extent and quality of work. It is part of our national heritage and we should all rightly be interested in the final outcome.

“I will also encourage our compatriots to simply google the cost of most modern airports built around the world in the last few years (including those in Africa like Angola, etc) and you will agree with me that the Bureau for Public Procurement that scrutinised and fixed the final cost of this project did a fantastic job for the nation.

“And as a final word, it is important to tell Nigerians that we also have brand new Terminals in Kano, Abuja & Port-Harcourt. However, presently, they are all underutilised due to the traffic that is less than thirty percent of their capacities.”