Keyamo says Lagos airport terminal one will be revamped with subsidy removal gains

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation, has unveiled plans to revamp terminal one of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, promising that Nigerians will be proud of the transformation.

On August 1, Keyamo said the Lagos airport rehabilitation will cost N712.25 billion.

In a statement on Sunday, Keyamo clarified the approvals secured from the FEC, saying terminal one will be renovated, while terminal two will be expanded.

“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,” the minister explained.

“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 & 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 & 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.

“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.”

MMIA TO GET NEW RING ROADS, BRIDGE

Keyamo also unveiled plans to construct new ring roads and a bridge at Lagos’ MMIA.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Keyamo also announced brand new terminals in Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

The minister said presently, they are all underutilised due to the traffic that is less than 30 percent of their capacities.