How we’ll handle proposed Lekki airport: NCAA

The regulator said it will offer professional guidance on the proposed Lekki airport in Lagos.

News Agency of Nigeria • October 10, 2022

Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says it will offer professional guidance on the proposed Lekki airport in Lagos, in line with its regulations and the interest of safety.

Sam Adurogboye, the general manager, Public Affairs of NCAA, said this in an interview in Lagos on Monday.

Mr Adurigboye assured that the aviation regulatory body would monitor the project from beginning to end when the time comes.

“We will also supervise it from beginning to the end and certify it okay before the usage of the airport,” he said.

Mr Adurogboye said building an airport around the axis meant infrastructure development, which was good for the economy, the community and the state where it is situated.

On Thursday, the Special Adviser Lagos State Governor on Public Private Partnerships (PPP), Ope George, expressed the state’s readiness to construct a new airport on the Lekki axis.

Mr George revealed that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led government had sought and obtained approval from the federal government to construct the new airport in Lagos.

He said the project, expected to take off in 2023, would be constructed on 3,500 hectares of land.

Meanwhile, an aviation expert, John Ojikutu, commenting on the state government’s plan, said Lagos deserved a second airport.

He, however, said the plan had been on for a long time and wondered why it was taking so long to begin it.

“The bulk of the passengers destined for Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) live far away in Victoria Island and Lekki.

“I’m sure if statistics of regular passengers at the MMA are to be taken today, the percentage of that comes from these areas cannot be less than 50 per cent.

“Also, they probably are the major reasons for most flight delays when the load factor of flights is not made early.”

The state government had said that the master plan and aeronautical designs of the planned airport were in place.

According to the state government, the airport is expected to cater to a minimum of five million people yearly.

It said it would be constructed in partnership with local and foreign investors.

(NAN)

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