An international airport in Africa is set to give a huge African country a big boost.
The airport is currently being built on a 3,500 hectare site and will handle up to five million passengers per year including two million tons of cargo per year.
The Lekki-Epe International Airport began construction in October last year in Nigeria’s capital city of Lagos.
The airport will be located near major transportation links including the Lekki-Epe Expressway and the Lekki Free Trade Zone which will allow for easier travel for passengers and cargo to and from the airport.
Developed through a public-private partnership, the international airport will be Nigeria’s international hub and is poised to “push things forward” for the African country.
The airport is expected to be a major hub when it comes to international travel and commerce in the African region.
It will also provide Nigeria with state-of-the-art facilities including its many other services to help meet the demands of the rapidly growing Nigerian economy.
The new airport is set to replace Nigeria’s existing Murtala Muhammed International Airport, which has become increasingly congested over the years – becoming inadequate for the growing number of passengers and cargo.
Once completed, the Lekki-Epe International Airport will boast of a 2.7 mile (4.5km) runway that’ll be capable of handling large commercial aircrafts including the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747.
Inside, the airport’s passenger terminal will be able to accommodate up to 20 million passengers annually.
Lekki-Epe International Airport will also have a cargo terminal also boasting of an impressive capacity of up to 2 million tons of cargo per year.
Construction of the Lekki-Epe International Airport will cost a whopping £2 billion ($2.5 billion) in total with Nigeria’s Lagos State Government recently announcing China Airport Construction Company (CACC) interest in partnering with the Nigerian government.
Governor Sanwo-Olu recently said: “We plan to see if we can identify partners; real partners who understand our market, seek the potential of our market, and appreciate that it is a market that has the potential to grow and take the lead.
“We haven’t made any final decision yet. We are hoping that we will be able to do that in the next couple of months so that we can push things forward”.
This comes after several delays for the airport’s construction due to funding difficulties being reported.
The Lekki-Epe International Airport is part of the Nigerian government’s efforts to modernize and upgrade the country’s infrastructure to keep pace with the country’s economic growth.
This new Lagos airport is set to be a catalyst for economic growth both for Nigeria and the Lekki area.
