- Safiu Kehinde
The Federal Government has made clarification over the controversial N712.3 billion budgeted for the renovation of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.
NPO Report the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval of N987 billion for the renovation and rehabilitation of airports across Nigeria.
However, the allocation of the larger chunk of N712.3 billion to Lagos airport had sparked controversies of alleged bias by the Federal Government.
Reacting to the criticisms in a post on his X handle on Sunday, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, explained reasons behind the huge allocation to the MMIA.
Keyamo explained that Terminal One of the Lagos airport which was built under the Obasanjo-led military regime in 1979 has gone old beyond repair and as such requires complete demolition and reconstruction.
The Minister also disclosed that the new Terminal Two building and apron 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.
“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.
“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.” Keyamo explained.
While defending the allocation which according to him was recommended by the Bureau for Public Procurement, the aviation minister noted that the project will be fully sponsored by the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund without any loan.
He further clarified that the Kano, Abuja, and Port-Harcourt airports are still new and underutilised unlike the Lagos airport.
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.” He added.