AM EDITORIAL: Plan, Funding In The Masterplan Of Nigeria’s Airports

An airport master plan is a vision document that guides an airport’s structure, management, operations and successive investments in that airport. It is drawn from the overall aviation industry masterplan and helps to interpret the policies therein as it relates to the airport itself.

Developing a master plan starts with an ambition or concept of what an airport is supposed to do. If you want an airport to become a regional hub, you have to think about it from the beginning. In preparing a master plan, a lot of forecasts are important. They include how the people are growing, the kind of commerce that you have, the region that the airport is going to be situated, and the type of transport services that you expect the airlines to carry out at such airport, and so on.

Designing the master plan of an airport incorporates changes in the coming years as regards the economy, overall population, passenger traffic, maintenance plan and urban development. It therefore, resides in forward planning.

For instance, according to the Head of Marketing, Middle East & Africa at Munich Airport International, Mr. Prasad Delip, the masterplan of the Munich Airport of 1990 was designed in 1984 with the projected traffic growth in mind and this determined what should be built by 2022 as part of the original masterplan execution. This implies that implementing the masterplan of an airport is not an ad-hoc thing for a serious airport owner.

Masterplan is very crucial to the development of the airport and ought to be a guide for that airport’s development in subsequent years. It covers issues of physical building infrastructure, anticipated traffic, aeronautical and non-aeronautical considerations. More importantly, it contains a maintenance plan.

The masterplan guides the progressive development of an airport. Where this is not followed or an airport lacks a masterplan, what you get as time goes on, is clustered development as well as operational and structural confusion.

The poor maintenance culture that has stagnated infrastructure development in Nigeria over the years is no news but seems to be partly connected to masterplan issues, including compliance. For instance, the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos had four passenger terminals in its original plan but only two were built over the years.

All these must have informed the concerns of the Minister of Aviation & Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN). He had said at a recent aviation book launch:  “When the MMA was built in 1977, it was designed to handle about 200,000 passengers annually. Today, it processes over three million passengers a year, and about 15 million nationwide.” He added that “the difference is staggering. Over the years, the infrastructure has nearly collapsed under pressure. Thanks to President Bola Tinubu. We are set to embark on a complete reconstruction of the old terminal in Lagos to meet modern standards, with a projected annual capacity of 20 million passengers. Full details will be unveiled in the coming weeks.”

The argument about cost implications thrown up by some stakeholders thereafter is neither here nor there. Spending resources once and strategically on a sustainable appropriate project makes more benefit sense than a pretentious prudence that amounts to a continuous wastage on an unsustainable archaic approach to development.

Therefore, we agree with Minister Keyamo that Nigeria cannot at the point where decades have been spent not doing the right things, begin to adopt a 20-years-behind method concerning MMA, rather than a forward looking approach.

Yesterday, July 31, 2025, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved N712.26 billion for the Lagos airport terminal rehabilitation, signalling Nigeria’s most ambitious aviation investment. The sum covers the complete overhaul of International Terminal One at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), alongside expansion works at Terminal Two.

₦469.74 billion of the total sum will fund the full rehabilitation and rebuild of Terminal One, awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). The project will strip the structure to its shell and replace all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, to be completed in 22 months.

“We’re rebuilding from the carcass up. This administration has abandoned patchwork repairs for permanent solutions,” said Minister Keyamo.

₦242.52 billion was approved for the Terminal Two expansion, which includes aprons, bridges, access roads, and support infrastructure and all works in Lagos will be funded through the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund. ₦49.9 billion will be used to secure MMIA with a 14.6-kilometre perimeter fence equipped with intrusion detection systems, solar-powered floodlights, CCTV surveillance, and patrol roads. A modern command and control centre will provide real-time perimeter monitoring.

₦46.39 billion has been allocated to upgrade Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano. The works include runway and taxiway rehabilitation and Category II airfield lighting and the project is expected to last 24 weeks. ₦42.14 billion will fund similar upgrades at Port Harcourt International Airport and the focus in Port Harcourt is on runway resurfacing and upgraded airfield lighting.

₦44.13 billion was earmarked for the MMIA domestic wing. This covers the upgrade of Runways 18L/36R and Taxiways B and C to Category II LED lighting standards. The project is scheduled for completion in 30 weeks. ₦24.27 billion will go towards reconstructing and expanding 82,000 square metres of apron space at Lagos Domestic Terminal. This effort aims to relieve apron congestion and improve aircraft movement. It will be executed in phases over 17.5 months.

This approval represents the single-largest investment ever concentrated in one aviation location. Keyamo emphasized that Nigeria must meet international aviation standards with infrastructure that is both modern and future-ready.

We find it gladdening to hear from the Managing Director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku that a contract for the masterplan of the airports in Lagos and Abuja has been awarded already. We urge however that the plan captures all necessary elements.

More importantly, USING LEGAL INSTRUMENTS to attempt to protect compliance with the masterplan’s provisions in the years ahead will be a good idea. Above all, transparency in the entire process and in the on-going concession arrangements as well as deployment of the approved N712.26 billion for upgrades, is critical. AM