Federal Govt mulls Red Line train services for Lagos Airport terminals

 

Federal Govt mulls Red Line train services for Lagos Airport terminals 

....Earmarks N1trillion for airport infrastructure upgrade 

The Federal Government has concluded plans to begin the construction of a light rail Red Line originating from Ikeja Bus Stop into the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), MMA2, Air Force Base into the new International Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport( MMIA).

The new intervention is part of the Federal Government's Renewed Hope Initiative for the aviation industry gulping almost N1trillion drawn from the Renew Hope Infrastructure Fund.

Disclosing this on Monday , Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo said Tinubu's administration has impacted the aviation industry like others with urgent infrastructure intervention and policies.

Keyamo said the Tinubu administration has addressed the concern of infrastructure upgrade with the N712 billion pumped into the overhauling the many decades old facility 

He listed the commencement of work on the Abuja Airport second runway gulping N400 billion, the building and resurfacing of Akure Airport and other interventions.

Speaking at the 67 year anniversary of Nigeria's oldest aviation company : Aero contractors Airlines in Lagos, Keyamo said Tinubu's administration strides in aviation industry bordering on easy access to aircraft acquisition, establishment of more airlines by sub national entities : State Government, which are already making in- roads into West and Central African routes.

Keyamo said the Tinubu administration should be commended for the several projects it has initiated and is implementing for the growth of the industry.

Keyamo said :" The current administration has done much in the area of policy by pushing for the support of local airlines, which has increased their fleet , with easier access to get airplanes as well as the upgrade of airport infrastructure. Before now, these could not be achieved , because Nigeria borrowed money to build four airport terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano. 

" But all that has changed under the Tinubu administration, because following the removal of fuel subsidy, there is no more borrowing to build aviation infrastructure. The gains are now being ploughed into projects and policies that will build the economy and create jobs.

“This is the vision of Mr. President under the Renewed Hope agenda for the aviation sector, it is anchored on infrastructure and policy. The four major airport terminals we built, that started under Jonathan or under Yar’Adua, I can’t be sure, and that finished under Buhari, which is the Chinese terminals in Lagos, in Abuja, in Kano, and in Enugu, Port Harcourt and Enugu was done by budgetary allocation and it wasn’t finished. But these four, they were done by monies borrowed from the Chinese.

“We could not raise money to do anything in the last 50 years because there was no money. The thing we managed to do was that we borrowed money from the Chinese, and we are paying back that money.. Why was there no money? The simple reason is that all the monies we were earning in this country from oil was going to subsidies. Very simple. Our major earnings from oil went to subsidizing PMS. And not only PMS, we were also suppressing the Naira.

“People are saying now that, floating Naira is audio money, it was the audio money at that time, not now. Because if you have Naira you are buying, not at the true rate, suppressed and subsidized rates, buy fuel at the expense of infrastructure, that was the real audio money at that time. And so it affected the aviation sector too. We could not touch any major infrastructure, but in less than two years after we removed subsidies from both money and fuel, in less than two years, the President raised $500 million to rebuild Lagos. Not money borrowed because we were able to get money, our liquidity rose, our foreign reserves also rose from $3 billion to $56 billion now. And investors are rushing into the country because they now see the country as viable.”, he said.

Speaking on the multiplier effect of deferring the construction of a second runway at Abuja Airport, Keyamo said: “Why did we not build the second runway all along? The National Assembly fought that project because they. that ₦45 billion was too big to do the second runway. We could not raise ₦45 billion at that time to do the second runway. 15 years later, or maybe 20 years later, it’s now costing us nearly ₦500 billion. That is the danger of postponing the evil day.

“So, these are the policies that are positively affecting the aviation sector. The third one is that the President has approved and we have drawn the plan now to construct a red line from the Ikeja bus stop, straight into the airport terminal. This is First-class train, air-conditioned all the way to the new terminal.”, he added.

The Minister commended Aero contractors team for its resilience over the years, describing the carrier as good story for Nigerian aviation industry.

Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director of Aero contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi urged the Federal Government to ensure its target intervention specifically addresses the challenges facing airlines.

He called for the recognition of the airline by the government.