The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Rabiu Yadudu has disclosed that five airlines would relocate to the new terminal by September 1, stating that gradually other airlines would move.
The new terminal two of the Murtala Muhammed International
Airport (MMIA), Lagos, was commissioned yesterday by the federal government,
noting that the terminal has created over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
made this known during a tour of the new terminal which he said would
complement the old terminal built 40 years ago.
He spoke just as it emerged that five more airlines would
relocate to the new terminal more than five months after the commissioning.
The minister was accompanied on the tour by the FAAN boss,
Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu, and other officials of the ministry.
The terminal which was commissioned in March 2022 by
President Muhammadu Buhari is one of the four terminals built with a
concessionary loan from the China Exim Bank.
The minister who allayed fears over the repayment of the
loans also urged Nigerians to pay their tax regularly to expand the tax to GDP
ratio which he said is very low.
He said, “When loans are used and invested in infrastructure
such as this, then it means the loans are wisely used. The major problem is
that the tax to GDP ratio is so low because most Nigerians don’t pay tax. So I
want to appeal to Nigerians to help government in paying their taxes, then
there will be a reduction in the deficit that we are experiencing.”
The terminal, the minister stated, has state-of-the-art
facilities and fittings with the capacity to process 14 million passengers per
annum, adding that the new terminal would not replace the old terminal; rather
it would complement it as a provision has been made for passengers to link the
two terminals.
He said, “I was here 40 years ago when the first terminal
was commissioned. There is a time between the commissioning of an airport and
when the airport becomes operational. You know aviation is unforgiving of any
mistake.
“The new international terminal is not to replace the old
one but to complement it. It is gradual, and very soon this airport will be
very busy. You can see that terminals are not used only by airlines. We have
restaurant operators, banks, foreign exchange operators etc. and you have to
screen people over and over again before it becomes operational.”
Additionally, the FAAN boss says, a lot of system
integration is ongoing to make the relocation of more airlines seamless and
hassle-free. Also, that the plan to expand the ramp of the terminal to
accommodate more aircraft is ongoing.
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