The proposed second runway for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, has risen from an initial N45 billion in 2009 to about N400 billion in 2026 due to years of delay, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said.

Speaking yesterday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, during the 67th anniversary of Aero Contractors, Keyamo said the sharp increase in the cost of the project indicated the economic consequences of delaying critical aviation infrastructure.

According to him, the proposed second runway had been the subject of controversy for almost two decades, with the National Assembly previously questioning the estimated N45 billion cost of the project.

The second runway for Abuja was first proposed in 2009 when Babatunde Omotoba was the Minister of Aviation under then President Umaru Yar’Adua.

According to Keyamo, the cost controversy started when former President Goodluck Jonathan was in office. However, he said President Bola Tinubu’s infrastructure strategy is anchored on the need to address decades of underinvestment in critical facilities across the aviation sector.

The minister added that the federal government had also commenced the rehabilitation of the Lagos Airport and was resurfacing the runways at the Abuja and Port Harcourt airports, while work was expected to commence on the Akure Airport runway very soon.

Keyamo further informed that the government had secured an infrastructure approval of about $1 billion for the aviation sector, with about $500 million earmarked for the reconstruction of the MMIA terminal.

Noting that the government was able to do this without any loan, he assured that the investments would not only improve airport infrastructure but also generate employment and attract investment into the country.

The minister also disclosed plans to extend the Lagos Red Line rail network to the new terminal at the MMIA, explaining that the proposed rail extension would run from the existing Red Line corridor through the airport axis, with a stop around the Air Force Base before connecting to the new terminal.