The Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) has advised the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to adopt a public private partnership (PPP) model for the Lekki International Airport.
The advice is contained in a statement issued in Lagos by the spokesman for the aviation think-tank, Mr. Olu Ohunayo.
ASRTI also urged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the federal ministry of aviation to give the necessary support and approvals for the project.
The statement reads in part: “Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative whole-heartedly welcomes the decision of the Lagos State Government to build an airport in the Lekki axis to cater to the bourgeoning population and businesses around the Lekki industrial layout.
“Despite prior promises and the potentials including the extensive plans for the development of the area over the years, the project never took off and the Lekki corridor continued to expand, creating congestion, logistic and traffic chaos, impacting the economic and business opportunities in the area.
“For the benefits to Lagos, we strongly advocate for a public private partnership (PPP) and the need for the regulator, the NCAA and the federal ministry of aviation, to give the necessary support and approvals for this project.”
Recall that the Lagos State government had recently announced the construction of the airport, effective 2023
He said the new airport would be constructed on 3,500 hectares of land on the Lekki-Epe axis.
Meanwhile, Sanwo-Olu has received the federal government’s official approval for the construction of the airport.
The minister of aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika presented the approval letter to the governor yesterday at the annual international economic and developmental investment forum christened ‘Ehingbetti 2022’ held at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.
The minister noted that the Murtala Mohammed Airport is congested, describing the new airport in Lekki as “apt” to the innovations in that part of the state.
“Of course, you will agree with me that the Murtala Mohammed is too congested and far away from the centre of action at the moment because it is a new Lagos. Because there is Eko Atlantic, the Lekki Bridge, Lagos needs this airport and we are more than happy to have it,” he said.
The minister attested to the fact of the geometrical increase in the population of Lagos as it manifests in the rapid expansion to the most distant corners of all the boundaries of the state.
He said it will not be fair to leave behind the burgeoning population on the Lekki-Ajah-Epe axis and its exponential commercial and industrial growth without an airport.
Sirika said the need for an airport in that part of the state is too obvious to be ignored hence the federal government had no reason whatsoever to delay the approval.
In his remarks, Sanwo-Olu said with the airport, Lagos will be better accessible for the businesses within it.
He said the real beneficiaries of the airport will be the citizens and the businesses as it offers them a platform to thrive.
“For us, it is all about partnerships with federal government and the ministry of aviation, but the real beneficiaries are the citizens, the businesses we are trying to activate more. Government to government and business to business, that is how you develop economies like this. Give them a platform for their business to thrive,” the governor added.
