Though a few other states in Nigeria have initiated or built airports of their own, the proposed Lekki International Airport in Lagos is generating more interest and commendation because of the nature of Lagos as a city state.
Recently, the state government secured approval from the Federal Government to build an expansive airport that will be sitting an estimated 35,000 hectares of land. The airport to be developed in partnership with local and foreign investors is expected to cater to a minimum of 5 million people yearly.
Many aviation stakeholders and sundry air travellers have hailed the whole idea, describing it as a project whose time has come. We cannot agree more. Our reason is that we also see the great promise the airport holds for the Lagos economy and the residents.
When Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Lagos the second worst city to live in the world, a major reason given for that damning ranking was the city’s environment. Actually, Lagos has a very challenging environment the residents don’t find funny.
Besides filth, which is of great concern, Lagos is chiefly and aptly defined by very severe traffic congestion such that the city has become a by-word for gridlock. Except for highbrow locations like Ikoyi and Banana Island, anywhere else one turns seems to be a highway to hell
Besides filth, which is of great concern, Lagos is chiefly and aptly defined by very severe traffic congestion such that the city has become a by-word for gridlock. Except for highbrow locations like Ikoyi and Banana Island, anywhere else one turns seems to be a highway to hell.
At the moment, road transportation accounts for over 90 percent of passenger movement in the state. Whatever is happening on water is still skeletal compared to the volume of need. Rail system, as a means of transportation in the state, is still in the works as Blue Line and Red Line rail tracks.
We are therefore excited with the proposed international airport which, we hope, will be coming as an elixir for a traffic situation that has, on many occasions, led to loss of jobs, contracts and other business opportunities. It has also slowed the growth of the state’s economy and, in extreme cases, caused deaths.
We share the views of Seyi Adewale, CEO, Mainstream Cargo Limited, who sees the international airport easing the stress experienced by those living within and around Victoria Island, Lekki, Ibeju-Lekki, Sagamu, Ijebu, Epe axis when driving to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja.
The proposed airport will also ease the gridlock in Lagos metropolis and help to meet the corporate travel needs within that axis, given the growing number of businesses such as Dangote Refinery and Kellogg’s which are located in and around the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
Apart from easing traffic, the Lekki Airport, on completion, will complement the Lekki Deep Sea Port in terms of air cargo to complete and support business and needed courier services within the axis.
It will fast-track the construction of major facilities or infrastructure such as good roads network, regional bank headquarters, four- or five-star hotels, warehouses. The airport will also generate more revenue internally for Lagos State and further improve direct foreign investment into the country.
We see increased activities in real estate in that axis. Apart from improving the value of land, the proposed airport will lead to sharp increase in property prices up to 20-30 percent within 12 months.
These and more are reasons for which we give kudos to the Lagos State government for coming up with the initiative. However, we have our fears and reservations which we hope the state government should address as it prepares to start construction work on the project early next year.
Lagos is reputed for embarking on ambitious projects. But it also has penchant for taking eternity to complete such projects. The Lagos-Badagry Expressway is one project that, when completed, will have tremendous impact on the economy and lives of Lagosians, but it has become a perpetual project site.
The project, which involves reconstruction and expansion of the expressway from four to 10 lanes with a rail track in-between, will not only increase economic activities along that corridor, but will also facilitate regional trade and commerce between Nigeria and its West Coast neighbours.
Read also: Explainer: What proposed Lekki-Epe International Airport means for Lagos
Regrettably, 13 years down the line, the project is still ongoing with no definite date of completion. Its completion date has been shifted more than four times and still counting.
It is our hope that the proposed Lekki Aiport will not go the way of this unfortunate expressway which has passed through three different administrations beginning from Babatunde Fashola who initiated it, through Akinwunmi Ambode and now, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
We have our fears too on the likelihood of this airport worsening an already bad traffic situation on the Lekki-Epe Expressway. Access to the proposed airport is already very congested and what the situation will be when the airport becomes operational is better left to the imagination.
Today, it takes over six hours to move from Lekki First Gate to Ibeju Lekki or the Free Trade Zone. We wonder what will happen to someone who will be trying to catch an early morning flight.
We are therefore recommending that the state government should incorporate a multi-modal transport system to make the airport viable. That means more investment in the state’s transportation system.
We also see need now, more than ever before, for Lagos to collaborate with the neighbouring Ogun State on the provision of inter-state roads infrastructure that will serve the mutual interest of the two states.
It is our hope that serious emphasis on easy access to the airport, from whichever direction a prospective air passenger will be coming, will make it a great project of the century.
