According to information obtained by The PUNCH, the Lagos State Government’s plan to develop an airport to supplement the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos may encounter legal opposition since the project is prohibited by an existing contract with a terminal operator in the state.

If not revoked, the proposed new airport’s development will violate an existing contract between the Federal Government and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu met with top officials from the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority on Friday in an attempt to start building the airport in the Lekki neighbourhood of Lagos State.

According to reports, the main focus of this conference was how to speed up the planned airport building.

According to those with knowledge of the meeting, the governor requested the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s consent to start construction on the airport in addition to the experts’ advise.

When finished, the airport would lessen traffic on the well-known Murtala Muhammed Airport, according to industry analysts who endorsed this initiative.

With a commitment to start building in 2023, the Federal Government authorised the Lekki International Airport project in the Lekki-Epe neighbourhood of Lagos State in October 2022.

Sanwo-Olu received the proposed airport’s clearance from former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika during the state’s Lagos Economic Summit in 2022.

But before the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two in Lagos was put into service on April 7, 2007, the Federal Government made a deal with the private company that runs the terminal, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, to refrain from building a second airport terminal in the state as long as the concession agreement for MMA2 was still in place.

In order to rebuild the once-burned Terminal, the Federal Government entered into a 36-year design-build-operate-transfer deal with Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited.

Nevertheless, the terminal has only been run by the operators for 17 years.

In 2009, the Lagos State government, then led by Babatunde Fashola, proposed the concept of a new airport under the Public-Private Partnership initiative.

The government, through its consultants, posted a call for pre-qualification in 2011 as part of the competitive contract process for the airport’s development.

33 Nigerian and foreign companies expressed interest in taking part in the ambitious project; however, landowner resistance and funding challenges caused the project to be postponed.

About N102 billion had been allocated for the project, according to a 2011 local media story that quoted Adeniyi Oyemade, the then-Commissioner for Commerce and Industry.

However, not much was heard about the project when Fashola left government in 2015 until San¬wo-Olu brought it back to life with the Federal Government’s assent.

According to Sanwo-Olu, the new airport will be constructed on 3,500 hectares of land adjacent to the Lekki–Epe Motorway.

However, there has been no success in getting Bi-Courtney to comment on the issue.

Our reporter was informed by a senior firm employee speaking on the condition of anonymity that the corporation had not responded to the request for comment at the time of filing.

Ajoke Yinka-Olawuyi, the company’s head of corporate communications, stated that she is unable to comment on the situation.

Olawuyi said our correspondent, “I cannot comment on that matter at this time.”

Gbenga Omotoso, the State’s Commissioner for Information, disregarded our correspondent’s calls and SMS messages of inquiry and declined to comment on the incident.

Meanwhile, the state requires another airport, according to Olumide Ohunayo, Director of Research at Zenith Travel Limited.

With a population of over 20 million and a sizable middle class, Lagos State is Nigeria’s largest commercial hub. You can be certain that a second airport is important and necessary to boost the state’s economy.

According to Nuhu Adam, managing partner of TMSS Logistics, a consultancy and service provider for aviation logistics, the state government’s declaration was a positive step and a turning point for the state.

“The Lagos State Government’s announcement is a positive development and a game changer,” he remarked. The idea of a free-trade zone is being used to promote the airport. Given Lagos’s advantageous position as a West African aviation centre, it is undoubtedly going to be a game changer.

The promoter should, however, be aware of the present contract between the Federal Government and a terminal’s operator. If the legal obstacle is not adequately resolved, I consider this as a burden.

“Considering the recent Virgin Nigeria v. Federal Government case regarding the operation of domestic flights from international terminals, it won’t be in the best interests of potential investors.”