By Olasunkanmi Akoni & Monsur Olowoopejo
The Lagos State Government is to spend N102 billion ($ 650 million) on the construction of the Lekki International Airport which is expected to commence operation in May 2012.

The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Adeniyi Oyemade, a Public Private Partnership projector told reporters in Ikeja that the proposed airport would handle 5 million passengers annually.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/05/lagos-earmarks-n102-bn-to-build-lekki-int’l-airport/

I hope uduaghan and his cronies will take a good lesson, on how to build a good airport, on time with no mago mago

do we really need another international airport in lekki.MM does not even handle 1/10th the traffic of JFK as it is.why waste money on another airport.all this white elephant projects is bankrupting nigeria even further.

liquid7:

do we really need another international airport in lekki.MM does not even handle 1/10th the traffic of JFK as it is.why waste money on another airport.all this white elephant projects is bankrupting nigeria even further.

international? no. Domestic? yes.

kodewrita:

international? no. Domestic? yes.

i could somewhat agree for a local airport to give people landing a better option for where in lagos to land but an international airport as you agreed is totally unneeded and just a white elephant to chop money.
we have bad roads,no water,power outage,poor hospitals,poor schools ,the list is endless and they want to spent 102b naira on this!

liquid7:

do we really need another international airport in lekki.MM does not even handle 1/10th the traffic of JFK as it is.why waste money on another airport.all this white elephant projects is bankrupting nigeria even further.

I think we do.

MMIA was not deigned to cope with the amount of traffic it now has to grapple with. Do you not see the congested terminal building, long queues, broken carousels etc? Plus there is little room for expansion at MMIA.

Let them build a new, bigger, more modern, better run international airport in Lagos. Let them also build a 4th mainland bridge and a coastal road. Lagos deserves no less.

X!

liquid7:

do we really need another international airport in lekki.MM does not even handle 1/10th the traffic of JFK as it is.why waste money on another airport.all this white elephant projects is bankrupting nigeria even further.

Would you compare the size of JFK to MMIA?

About time they get this off the ground.

To the nay sayers, MMA belongs to the federal government, not Lagos state government and I don't think it's wise and prudent for Lagos state to depend on the obsolete and and poorly managed MMA for it's economic survival. MMA is the federal government's mess, let them deal with it, Lagos state government can not even fix a broken light bulb at MMA. The feds can keep that eye sore or take it to Abuja.

The new airport was designed to cope with heavy international air and cargo traffic associated with Lekki free trade zone and Eko Atlantic. It makes no business sense trafficking heavy cargo to and from Lekki free trade zone and Eko Atlantic and getting stuck in traffic for hours.

Besides, we need a modern Airport, not the shameful airstrip called MMA. Lagos is a developing state, not a regressing state.

lagos govt needs its own funds

common sense

im getting tired of the clown.s on nairaland/internet in general

dplordx:

Now im feeling like my vote for Fashola is a complete waste.
My car keeps going to Panel beater every month for repair because of the bad roads all over this place.
Why cant this guy just fix the basic thing. Why is he in so much hurry to squander so much of Lagos money into a place with less than 5% of the population.
Is he doing this because of tinubu's new airliners? I feel sorry I ever voted this guy who doesnt listen to people!

1. Airports are revenue generating entities

2. Lagosians are not only goina to build the airport, they are going to be employed to work at the airport and paying taxes to the state from their paychecks

3. Taxes from air and cargo traffic also goes to the state which is later calibrated towards areas like roads, hospitals, education and other basics.

4. You votes for the right man, you just have to stop looking at things from a shallow and shortsighted angle.

This is all about jobs, cormerce and development needed to grow the state.

It's a vital infrastructure.

The guy is basically building mini-Dubai in Lekki, with this Lekki FTZ.

MMIA is not going to cut it.

If Dubai is any indication of how things will end up, we'll be getting lots of flights into Lekki from all over Africa. Lekki airport may end up becoming a regional or international hub. This 5 million/year probably isn't an unreasonable figure. I doubt he'd have gotten private capital to invest in the airport if it were not feasible.

liquid7:

do we really need another international airport in lekki.MM does not even handle 1/10th the traffic of JFK as it is.why waste money on another airport.all this white elephant projects is bankrupting nigeria even further.

A money and employment gerating infrastructure is a white elephant?

You need your head checked. Some of you really shouldn't be allowed to run anything.

ekt_bear:

The guy is basically building mini-Dubai in Lekki, with this Lekki FTZ.

MMIA is not going to cut it.

If Dubai is any indication of how things will end up, we'll be getting lots of flights into Lekki from all over Africa. Lekki airport may end up becoming a regional or international hub. This 5 million/year probably isn't an unreasonable figure. I doubt he'd have gotten private capital to invest in the airport if it were not feasible.

True, but I think what most of the posters are complaining about is the lack of a bridge in Lekki and the bad roads. The traffic in Lekki is honestly horrible and scares the s/h/i/t out of anyone. Lekki does not need an airport first, it needs good roads

Lots of professionals live in the Lekki area and it is hell getting to work.

SEFAGO:

True, but I think what most of the posters are complaining about is the lack of a bridge in Lekki and the bad roads. The traffic in Lekki is honestly horrible and scares the s/h/i/t out of anyone. Lekki does not need an airport first, it needs good roads

Lots of professionals live in the Lekki area and it is hell getting to work.

they can do both.

This isn't an either/or sort of proposition. There are several transportation-oriented projects in various stages that'll help with traffic in Lagos generally and Lekki specifically (BRT, light rail, this Lekki-Ikoyi bridge, Lekki toll road, etc all to help with traffic.)

There are many things happening simultaneously.

About time they get this off the ground.

To the nay sayers, MMA belongs to the federal government, not Lagos state government and I don't think it's wise and prudent for Lagos state to depend on the obsolete and and poorly managed MMA for it's economic survival. MMA is the federal government's mess, let them deal with it, Lagos state government can not even fix a broken light bulb at MMA. The feds can keep that eye sore or take it to Abuja.

The new airport was designed to cope with heavy international air and cargo traffic associated with Lekki free trade zone and Eko Atlantic. It makes no business sense trafficking heavy cargo to and from  Lekki free trade zone and Eko Atlantic and getting stuck in traffic for hours.

Besides, we need a modern Airport, not the shameful airstrip called MMA. Lagos is a developing state, not a regressing state.

Thats just it! The earlier our leaders start executing modernising projects the better for our nation. The MMA is carrying far more traffic than what it was designed for, and upon successful completion of Eko Atlantic project, I do not think the MMA can cope. The MMA is already a nightmare for passengers.

And, starting a new project does not mean Lagos State Gov. will not execute other projects such as road rehabilitation or construction of new ones, which even in industrially advance nations, are ongoing.

I'm going to be sad when Fashola's tenure ends.

Can we merge the SW zone into one state, have some sort of local British parlimentary style system and keep Fashola for longer (subject to the vote of the parliamentarians, I guess), and have him govern the SW region as a whole?  

I want projects in my state too. . .

Bleh. Oh well, ignore my mad ramblings

g

@Musiwa, what is the nexus between you, satellite imagery and Cotonou/Benin Republic? This is just on a lighter note though.

Clearly, Lagos needs another airport though not at the expense of the development of other infrastructure. MMIA is outdated and is groaning under increased traffic and poor attention from the Federal Govt. I'm yet to see anyone that looks forward to MMIA for any travel-related activity.

. Jonathan promised an Airport in Each State. If that happens, then MMIA "traffic" will likely be drastically reduced. So, another International Airport in the same state? *** hmmm. . . . .

Nobody should hold their breathes waiting for GEJ's airports to materialize, na self asphyxiation be that o.

Another good move for Lagos.

Musiwa,:

. The reason you want to remove it from lekki is because of the sea. if the plane fail. they are all dead.

Musiwa has spoken. You are 100% safe if your plane impacts the ground and explodes, but if you hit water, it is all over.

f

you

You mean we ain't gonna hold him to the promises made?

Actually Musiwa is making a lot of sense on this thread

Ikorodu would have been a better location.

$650m will probably solve the problem of electricity in a state,it will build  a few state of the art hospitals,it will create loads of schools ,the list of much more urgent problems is endless.

Nigeria does NOT  still have a single hospital that can met the ALS or ATLS standard(i know this as a fact because i and others could not get approval to teach this essential life saving courses in Nigeria as there was not even one hospital in the whole nigeria we could find that met the criteria even private hospitals.the course we eventually provided was without approval and had to be renamed and even then 75% was theaory due to lack of equipment to demonstrate.).

Yet people here are actually supporting the need for another international airport rather then renovate the existing one.

Next time someone you know has a heart attack or a bad car crash and dies in a hospital i am sure you will look at this white elephant airport and think if its worth it.

Even if you are a multi millionare and don't care about anything then you should care if you substain major trauma on a bad nigerian road because news flash flying you out for treatment is not an option ,what happens in first 2 hours is what matters if you live or die.No plane will take you in such an unstable state abroad for treatment if you even make it to the airport!

Same goes for heart attacks and quite a few other critical things.

Nigerians get your priority right .Supporting a $650m new airport is totally out of priority even if its needed which i am not even sure it is.

zstranger:

Actually Musiwa is making a lot of sense on this thread

Ikorodu would have been a better location.

Ehn Ehn, What is the sense in this?

Musiwa,:

The reason you want to remove it from lekki is because of the sea. if the plane fail. they are all dead.

Jakumo:

Musiwa has spoken. You are 100% safe if your plane impacts the ground and explodes, but if you hit water, it is all over.