MMIA Terminal $447M One massive infrastructure essential rebuilt; an overhaul from the skeleton up

Funded by Savings from Fuel Subsidy Removal, Project Aims to Deliver World-Class Smart Airport

Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has defended the federal government’s ambitious ₦712 billion (approx. $447 million) reconstruction of Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), describing it as a complete rebuild, not a renovation.

In a statement shared on Sunday, Keyamo addressed growing public scrutiny over the project’s cost, clarifying multiple times that patches alone are insufficient, and the aging infrastructure is more expensive and less effective to repair than rebuild. Stripping the terminal down to its shell and rebuilding all key systems is the most cost-effective solution for long-term standards. As the overhaul is essential and long overdue. According to him, the funding will not involve loans, but will be sourced from the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, a pool created from fuel subsidy removal savings.