BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has said discussions on financing the planned extension of the Lagos Mass Transit Red Line to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) have reached an advanced stage.
The project, being planned by the Federal Government in collaboration with FAAN and the Lagos State Government, will connect the airport’s three terminals to the Red Line, making it easier for passengers and other travellers to move between the city and the airport.
FAAN Managing Director, Mrs Olubunmi Onabanjo-Kuku, disclosed this while speaking as a keynote panellist at the World Aviation Festival in Lisbon, Portugal.
Speaking on the theme, “Defining the Airport of the Future – Technology, Partnerships and People,” Kuku said efforts were ongoing to finalise the funding structure for the project.
“We are actually working on completing the financing of the capital structure for that project,” she said.
According to her, the rail link will provide quick access to the airport, with five stops within the airport premises. It will also connect the passenger terminals and extend to the cargo terminal.
The project is expected to improve connectivity, reduce the difficulties associated with road travel to the airport and support the movement of passengers and cargo.
On the ongoing modernisation of MMIA, Kuku said the airport was undergoing a major upgrade to improve efficiency, passenger experience and the use of modern technology.
She noted that the Lagos airport had not undergone any major infrastructure upgrade since it was built, despite handling the largest share of air traffic in the country.
“The MMIA has had no major infrastructure upgrade since it was built. We have just embarked on that upgrade,” she said.
According to her, Lagos accounts for about 68 per cent of Nigeria’s air traffic, followed by Abuja, which handles about three million passengers, and Kano. Together, the three airports account for about 80 per cent of the country’s air traffic.
She said FAAN must also invest in the country’s other airports while ensuring that available funds are directed towards the most urgent needs.
Nigeria has six international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Enugu and Maiduguri, alongside other airports managed or supported by the authority.
Kuku said FAAN’s investment priorities were guided by three major considerations, beginning with safety, which she described as the foundation of airport operations.
She explained that much of the authority’s spending had focused on airside infrastructure, including facilities directly linked to aircraft operations, as well as the rehabilitation of major airports over the past three years.
The ongoing works include runway rehabilitation, resurfacing of runway extensions where possible and the installation of improved airfield lighting systems at some airports.
On the Lagos airport upgrade, she said Terminal 1 was being completely stripped down and rebuilt internally to improve its operations, rather than expanded.
“For Lagos specifically, being the flagship airport, Terminal 1 is actually being completely gutted. We’re not expanding Terminal 1, but we’re making it a lot more efficient,” she said.
She explained that the work would involve changing the terminal’s layout, improving immigration and customs facilities, increasing the number of service counters where necessary and introducing modern technology to make passenger processing faster and easier.
Kuku said air transport was not merely a means of moving people from one place to another but also an important driver of economic activity, making sustained investment in airport infrastructure necessary.
She added that FAAN had to balance safety requirements, operational efficiency and passenger needs in deciding how to allocate resources across the country’s airports.
Olapeju is a journalist and aviation reporter.
