Lagos State today (Tuesday) got the approval of the Federal Government for the construction of the Lekki International Airport at the Lekki-Epe axis of the state.
The State Government, last Friday, announced the construction of the airport slated to start in 2023.
It said that the new airport would be constructed on 3,500 hectares of land in the Lekki-Epe area.
Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, who spoke at the Lagos Economic Summit, Ehingbeti 2022 in Lagos, noted that Muritala Mohammed Airport is congested and that the creation of the new airport in Lekki is apt to the innovations in that part of Lagos.
He said “of course, you will agree with me that the Muritala Mohammed is too congested and far away from the centre of the 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.”
While presenting the approval to Sanwo-Olu, Sirika said, “In the name of God the most merciful, we in the Civil Aviation Ministry are pleased to issue out this approval to Lagos State. May it be a vision to Lagos, to its people, its future, its fortune, the country, and to humanity.”
Responding, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu said that he was happy about the project and that with the airport, Lagos will be better accessible for the businesses within it.
Sanwo-Olu added that the real beneficiaries of the airport will be the citizens and the businesses as it offers them a platform to thrive.
In his words, “For us, it is all about partnerships with the 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.”