The federal government has announced that it has declared that it has obtained commitments from multiple corporations in the private sector to start renovating Wing D’s arrival and departure sections at Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
This was revealed by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo in an interview with President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant, Otega Ogra, which was posted on the State House of Nigeria’s official YouTube channel.
keyamo pointed out that While major infrastructure projects cannot be anticipated to be completed in less than a year due to their high cost, one of the Ministry’s short-term focuses is to partner with private companies to offer necessary upgrades to airport facilities across the country.
the Aviation Minister also highlighted that this refurbishment initiative will be done in partnership with the Ministry of Interior, aiming to achieve similar modernization to the arrival area at Wing E, as done by Shell.
He emphasized that the Ministry of Interior will work with the Aviation Minister to carry out this renovation project, which aims to modernize the arrival area at Wing E in a manner akin to that carried out by Shell.
“We have changed the arrival area of MMIA Wing E.
“Shell came in and did a lot for use there. That’s a beautiful entrance into Nigeria.
“We are talking to one of two corporate bodies.
“They are just about to start their own on Wing D, departure and arrival,” Keyamo stated.
He further mentioned that the private corporate bodies will also refurbish the departure area of Wing E, alongside the arrival and departure areas of Wing D, at MMIA in Lagos.
The Aviation Minister noted that while the modernization of these airport wings will proceed in the short term, the long-term plan includes a complete reconstruction of most airports across the country to align with international standards.
Keyamo underlined the necessity of changing airport employees’ attitudes to improve the flying public’s experience, in addition to the scheduled renovations of airport infrastructure funded by the private sector.
He noted that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria which oversees the nation’s airports, does not currently act in a way that is consistent with doing their best work.
He mentioned a current project that aims to ensure that these personnel have a more customer-friendly mindset and deliver better services to the flying public.
According to Keyamo, these initiatives will greatly improve the general customer experience for the flying public if these civil officials adopt a different perspective and the federal government and commercial sector work together.
The arrival area of Wing E at Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos is the first of several planned refurbishments of airport facilities, and its completion marks a significant milestone.
