In Iperu-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, the distant sounds of automobiles on winding bush roads have been replaced by the roar of jet engines. What was once fields, red earth, and farmlands is now home to the Gateway International Airport and its companion aerotropolis — a bold experiment in crosspollinating infrastructure with agriculture, residential living, and international trade.
Under the Governor Dapo Abiodun led-administration, the project long dreamed of, begun, and got completed. Generally described as an unprecedented delivery by a governor, is what many hope will be an avenue for growth of the South-West, particularly for Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta and the surrounding communities.
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Proximity and strategic positioning
Ogun’s new airport is not located randomly. It is strategically placed near the Ilishan/Iperu-Ilisan Road, giving it unbridledaccess to the Southwest’s political, economic, religious and historical centres — Lagos, Ibadan and Abeokuta. The proximity means shorter haul times for cargo, less transit cost, and faster turnaround for perishable agricultural produce.
Linking major roads, especially the Lagos-Ibadan and Abeokuta-Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode-Benin expressways, means that goods arriving from remoter parts of Ogun or neighbouring states like Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo, will enhance trade and business, and most importantly, boost food security, with farmers, manufacturers, and air commuters not having to endure bad roads and traffic jams en route to an airport.
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They will also find a quieter, faster alternative to Lagos’ air traffic. This airport, upon full operation with new airlines joining Value Jet, will cut hours off their journey, as travelling from Iperu takes less than an hour to reach Lagos, forty-five minutes to Ibadan, and barely thirty minutes to Abeokuta. The centrality gives Ogun an unprecedented edge in logistics and investment attraction. This will give exporters the avenue to send produce directly from Iperu, hence relieving the Lagos’ congested cargo terminals.
For Governor Abiodun, the site is “a smart decision to place Ogun at the heart of Nigeria’s logistics revolution.” It is no accident that this airport sits where it does. “From here, goods, people, and opportunities can flow freely to the rest of the country and beyond,” the governor stressed during the commissioning.
The airporthas room for cargo facilities and technology. According to state government releases, the runway is approximately four kilometres long, making it one of the longest in the country. It is built to accommodate large aircraft, which is significant for cargo capacity and international connections.
The airport is being fitted with cutting-edge navigational aids, ramp lighting, a 2-megawatt gas power plant, modern control tower, as well as advanced electronics for air traffic control and safety. These are not mere
embellishments; they serve to ensure that operations can be reliable even under diverse weather conditions, and reduce operating costs and delays.
To safeguard international standards, the airport is to be manned by several federal agencies: Nigerian Customs, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Police, and other regulatory bodies. This ensures that both import/export requirements and security oversight are built in from the start.
Business attraction and aerotropolis
What is particularly striking about the Gateway project is that it has not been built as an isolated airport, but as the centrepiece of an aerotropolis. The idea is that around the airport you will have housing estates, commercial offices, logistics firms, agro-processing, real estate, and other businesses clustering to take advantage of proximity.
Some of the specific businesses, estates, and organisationsalready attracted or planned are:
The Gateway Aviation Village — a residential estate (Phase One of 100 units, fully sold; Phase Two of 200 units in progress) built to support those who will live, work, or do business around the aerotropolis. It comes with roads, fencing, drainage, security, electricity, water, etc; Gateway Aviation Estate; Special Agro-Processing Zone (SAPZ); potential Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, where a French aerospace firm,Dassault Aviation is considering establishing an MRO facility at the airport – an innovation that will project the Ogun Airport as one of the few airports in West Africa capable of servicing large aircraft; Nigeria Customs Training School, which will train customs officers on international standards and support regulatory needs tied to cargo operations.
These integrations mean that the airport is not just sending goods out, but creating businesses that support transit, processing, regulation, and living. It widens the economic footprint into real estate, hospitality, transport, manufacturing, and services.
Job creation and community impact
The project, which is a testament of fulfilled promise, has provided tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and community empowerment. The Aviation Village housing project used a direct labour approach. Commissioner for Housing, Jamiu Akande Omoniyi, reported that the construction of Phase One (100 housing units) created over 5,000 jobs, drawing from different skill sets: bricklayers, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, aluminium fabricators, etc. The wages paid were estimated at ₦700 million during the construction phase alone. On the broader scale, the government projects 25,000 direct and indirect jobs once full operations is attained, supporting agro-cargo processing, logistics, customs, security, hospitality, real estate and ground-handling etc.
For farmers and rural communities, the airport promises to cut down post-harvest losses by enabling quicker transport of perishable goods; provide access to export markets; attract inputs, packaging, cold chain storage closer to farms. These are benefits that ripple, from increased incomes, improved livelihoods, to better supply chain linkages.
Enhanced IGR and economic multiplier effects
Running a modern airport with cargo, passenger, and related business activities will generate multiple streams of revenue for Ogun State, such as landing fees, parking, terminal usage, customs and earlier mentioned agencies, facility leasing; real estate sales. Wages paid during construction circulate locally through purchase of materials, food, services etc. The multiplier effect boosts small businesses in surrounding towns: markets, eateries, hardware shops, transport.
More importantly, as export volumes rise, agricultural and industrial goods will be shipped out via the airport. This means foreign currency earnings for Ogun, for Nigeria, and local businesses that now have better access to external markets.
Regulatory milestones and completion under one administration
Giving credibility and momentum to the project is its timely progress and regulatory approvals by required agencies. In April 2025, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) completed runway checks and flight procedure validation, bringing the airport to 97% completion and near readiness for commercial operations. The entire project, under Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration saw it through to readiness. That matters in Nigeria, where many big infrastructure projects are often stalled or abandoned across administrations.
Comments by stakeholders
The Managing Director of Gateway International Airport, Dapo Olumide, praised the facility, saying, “Everything about electronics in this airport is state-of-the-art… If you have the right technology, it saves money in the long run.”
The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ade Akinsanya, affirmed that the runway is the longest in Nigeria now, and that the aircraft parking area (apron) is large, able to hold many aircraft, emphasising that the facility conforms to global standards. The Commissioner for Housing, Jamiu Akande Omoniyi, noted that: “The Gateway Aviation Village is to complement the Ogun Agro-Cargo Airport… people that work and do business around that environment will have a place where they can live and work.”
Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, during the inauguration of the 6km Siun-Owode Road in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area, in 2023, described the airport as a gamechanger. He said: “The Iperu International Cargo Airport is also a game changer. It will relieve Lagos airport of cargo … It is more of an economic airport. It will change the way things will be done in the future.”
“It is an excellent airport … what I have seen here today measures up and is much better than a number of other airports. It is the best long-term investment,” Chief Olu Okuboyejo, Chairman of Ogun State Governor’s Elders Advisory Councilsaid.
Also, former French Transport Minister, Djebbari Jean-Baptiste expressed interest from French companies in transit, logistics, aviation around Ogun State’s airport, dry port, railway etc.
Hidden impacts and future potentials
The project, without gainsaying, possesses a few items that are emerging but perhaps not fully developed yet, which could become big positives. Plans around Ogun State include not just the Aero-Cargo Airport but also a dry port, railway links, and possibly maritime connections. If connected well, this would allow cargo to transition between road, rail, air and sea smoothly.
Lagos’ airports (MMIA and Cargo Terminals) are heavily congested. Gateway offers an alternative for cargo and possibly passenger overflow. This can reduce delays, costs, and logistical headaches for importers/exporters and make space for new routes.
Land and property values around Iperu-Remo, Ilisan, and neighbouring areas are reportedly rising due to demand for estate plots, commercial lots, housing, offices. Those who owned land before the airport likely benefit from capital appreciation. With reliable electricity, better road access, security, internet connectivity, water, etc., those who live or move to the estates will enjoy a better standard of living compared with more remote rural areas. This also attracts more middle-class professionals to live in Ogun State rather than commuting from farther places.
Also, with projects such as the Customs Training School, and demand for skilled and semi-skilled labour (logistics, cold-chain, packaging, aviation operations, security), there is a whole human capital development impulse. Training programmes will likely follow as the airport moves into full operation.
A gateway more than an airport
The Gateway International Airport in Iperu-Remo is proving to be more than runway and terminal. It is a statement that infrastructure, placed in the right spot, done with ambition, and combined with policy thinking (housing, regulations, business attraction) can shift economic geography.
For Ogun State, the airport holds promise of real growth in jobs, in income, in trade, in foreigners choosing to invest here, in youths staying local, in farmers accessing global markets, in residential neighbourhoods blossoming where once there were only farms and bush.
*Ms Branco wrote from Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital
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