President Bola Tinubu has approved N712.3 billion for the comprehensive upgrade of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos as part of effort to revamp the aviation sector in the country under the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, disclosed this while addressing State House journalists on the outcomes of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
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The minister explained that the project would mark the first full-scale rehabilitation of the Lagos airport’s old terminal building since inception.
“This is not a patchwork. We’re stripping the building down to its carcass and rebuilding with full mechanical, electrical, and plumbing works,” he said.
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He emphasised that the contract has been awarded to CCECC, the same Chinese firm behind the construction of Terminal 2 at the airport, reiterating that the scope of the tasks also includes apron expansion, construction of access roads and bridges around the facility.
The aviation minister noted that the project is expected to be completed within 22 months.
Additionally, he said the domestic wing apron of the airport will be expanded over a three-phase project totalling more than 82,000 square metres, valued at N24.3 billion, to accommodate more aircraft.
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He explained that the airport upgrade includes runway rehabilitation and lighting enhancement in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano, so as to improve the landing capability of aircraft during low-visibility conditions like the Harmattan season.
“This is a heartwarming moment for the aviation sector,” the elated minister said, describing the investment as “the largest coordinated aviation infrastructure upgrade in Nigeria’s recent history.”
“Enugu Airport Concession”
The minister further disclosed that the federal government has approved a 30-year concession for the Akano Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, in a bid to inject private capital into underperforming aviation assets in the country.
Mr Keyamo noted that this followed an unsolicited proposal from the “Aero Alliance Consortium” for both the passenger terminal and the unfinished cargo terminal at the southeastern airport.
The aviation minister said the concession marks the beginning of a broader strategy to involve the private sector in managing smaller airports that are currently operating at a loss.
“It is no secret that the government spends the profits from Lagos, Abuja and Kano to keep smaller airports running. This model is unsustainable,” he said.
He added that the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model would focus particularly on developing the non-aeronautical revenues at the airport — including shopping malls, conference centers, and other commercial hubs.
The move to concession some airports in the country by the previous administration has generated intense debates among aviation sector stakeholders, Nigerians and the legislative arm of government.
In May 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari, during a FEC meeting, approved the concession of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, to the Corporacion American Airport Consortium. But this was faulted and condemned by the Senate, recommending that the federal government review the concession exercise and give a level playing field to all stakeholders in the aviation industry.
In September 2023, Mr Keyamo announced that the airport concession moves had been temporarily halted.
A year after, Mr Keyamo announced that the Mr Tinubu administration will review the Buhari administration’s concessioning of two major airports to make it more transparent.
“We are starting the process of concession of airports all over again to make it more transparent,” the minister said at the time, adding that “bureaucracy cannot run public infrastructure”.
On Thursday, the minister told Journalists that the full business case for the concessioning of the Enugu airport was approved by the council, but that the government promised further transparency when finalising the agreement.
“We will reveal all the players, their roles, and capacities. We’ve carried the unions along from the very beginning,” he said.
Perimeter Surveillance
Similarly, the minister announced that the FEC has approved a N49.9 billion project to secure the perimeter of Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport, amid growing concerns over runway incursions and wildlife hazards.
He said the initiative, under the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, will see the construction of a 14.6-kilometre metal security fence, solar-powered floodlights, and intruder detection systems linked to a centralised command centre.
“There have been too many near misses — aircraft encountering animals or unauthorized persons on runways,” the aviation minister said, referring to recent incidents at other airports where aircraft hit deer during landing.
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“The surveillance system we are introducing will be the kind you find in modern airports — any movement along the fence line triggers an alert,” he explained.
He noted that the installation will also include CCTV coverage, an operational road, and a sophisticated intrusion detection suite, ensuring that human patrols are no longer needed.
The project, he said, is scheduled for completion in 24 months and that it is part of a larger infrastructure renewal plan that includes runway and lighting upgrades in Port Harcourt (N42.1 billion), Kano (N46.3 billion), and Lagos (N44.1 billion) — all aimed at achieving Category 2 Instrument Landing Systems (CAT II) to mitigate delays caused by poor weather.
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