Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Lagos State Government has been commended for the bold step taken to build an airport in the Lekki-Epe axis of the state.
The Federal Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have been charged to give the state government all the necessary support and approvals for the project to commence as planned.
Mr Olumide Ohunayo, the assistant secretary of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), a non-governmental organisation, made this known in a statement.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, received the federal government’s instrument authorising the state to commence the Lekki Airport project from the Minister for Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika, at the ongoing Lagos Economic Summit (Ehingbeti) 2022.
Lagos government wants to execute the aviation project through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) in response to the pace of development on the Lekki-Epe axis, which is now a fast-growing hub of commerce and industrial activities.
The entire airport infrastructure will be sited on 3,500 hectares, with the first phase of the project estimated to cost $900 million.
Mr Sanwo-Olu described the approval as another “successful step forward” towards delivering his administration’s agenda of Greater Lagos and keeping the State on the path of irreversible economic prosperity.
The ASRTI lamented that the failure of the government to build a new airport at Lekki-Epe had further created traffic chaos in the state, maintaining that its opening would reduce the congestion in the state, especially for travellers who move from the Island to the Mainland for air travel.
“We whole-heartedly welcome the decision of the Lagos State Government to build an airport in the Lekki axis to cater to the burgeoning population and businesses around the Lekki industrial layout.
“Despite prior promises and the potential, 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 economic and business opportunities in the area,” Mr Ohunayo said.
As a matter of urgency, the group also called on the relevant agencies and tiers of government to commence the repair of the cenotaphs erected to honour the fallen air passengers at Lisa, Epe, and Ejigbo, respectively.
