FG to rebuild Lagos International Airport Terminal, targeting 20m annual passengers
By Seun Ibiyemi
The federal government has announced plans for a complete reconstruction of the old terminal at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
The upgrade aims to raise the terminal’s capacity from 3 million to 20 million passengers annually, aligning it with future demands and positioning it as a competitive regional hub.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, revealed the development in response to public remarks made by UK-based chartered management consultant, Dr Dipo Awojide, who had taken to social media to commend visible improvements at the Lagos airport.
“Kudos @fkeyamo, Lagos airport has changed for good,” Awojide wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Aircraft to welcome area looks cleaner and the security area is well designed. My bag came out in 10 minutes. Exit to parking area is way better. I say this as someone who has been travelling for over 15 years. This is the easiest it has been for me in Lagos.”
Although Awojide mentioned that “a few more cultural issues” still needed attention, he acknowledged that the overall experience had improved significantly.
In his response, Keyamo expressed gratitude for the feedback but tempered the optimism with a dose of realism, stating that despite recent progress, Nigerian airports remain below global benchmarks.
“Thank you, @OgbeniDipo for your compliments. But our airports are still far away from global standards, I must admit. We are just making the best of the situation as we found it,” he said.
Providing further context, the minister pointed out that the original terminal at MMIA was built in 1977 and was designed to handle just 200,000 passengers annually. “Now, we are doing about 3 million passengers in that airport alone per annum and about 15 million nationwide per annum. See the difference!” he noted.
Keyamo criticised the longstanding neglect of the aviation sector, describing the current state of infrastructure as the result of decades of overuse without adequate upgrades.
“The facilities have almost collapsed,” he said. “Thanks to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we are about to embark on a total rebuilding of the old MMI Airport in Lagos to meet modern standards, with a projection of about 20 million passengers per annum.”
He added that the full details of the project would be released to the public in the coming weeks.
The reconstruction of the MMIA terminal is expected to become a cornerstone of the Tinubu administration’s aviation policy, with the goal of establishing Lagos as a major West African aviation gateway.
Aviation experts have welcomed the news as a long-overdue step toward improving passenger experience and service delivery in Nigerian airports, which have long suffered from congestion, delays, and limited amenities.
