The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has described the N712 billion reconstruction of Terminal 1 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos as a plan to turn the country’s busiest international gateway into a modern, passenger-centred airport. He spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of the 35th Airports Council International (ACI) Africa Annual General Assembly and regional conference.
Keyamo said the intervention went beyond physical expansion, framing it as part of a wider push to bring Nigerian airports in line with what he called next-generation standards. According to him, the terminal would be repositioned as a working part of the country’s economic infrastructure rather than a passenger hall alone.
“This is not merely about concrete, steel and glass. An airport is a country’s front door,” he said. He added that the quality of the facility shapes the first impression international visitors form of the nation, and that the government wanted its airports to convey efficiency, dignity and confidence.
The figure Keyamo cited is not new. The Federal Executive Council approved the Terminal 1 rebuild on 31 July 2025 at a cost of N712.26 billion, part of a larger aviation package valued at about N919 billion covering Terminal 2 expansion, roads, aprons and bridges. The contract went to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, the firm behind the airport’s Terminal 2.
The government has said the project is funded through the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, which Keyamo has previously described as a direct gain from the removal of fuel subsidy, and that no foreign loan is involved. FAAN began works in early 2026, with the terminal fully closed for a period the authority puts at 22 months.
To keep the gateway running during construction, FAAN built a temporary departure hall of about 8,000 square metres, designed to handle roughly 1,500 peak-hour passengers. The managing director, Olubunmi Kuku, has said passenger safety, accessibility and comfort remain priorities through the transition, and has pointed to plans for new access roads and a connection linking Terminals 1 and 2 into a single complex.
The cost has drawn criticism since approval. The African Democratic Congress, through its national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the spending as a misplaced priority and called for its suspension. Some aviation analysts also questioned the award process, noting the absence of open competitive bidding, a point the government has not addressed in detail beyond Keyamo’s assurance of transparency and periodic facility tours for reporters and lawmakers.
A second point of confusion has followed the funding. In June 2026, Keyamo announced a fresh 500 million dollar investment for the same terminal, prompting questions from members of the public about how it related to the N712 billion already approved. At the exchange rate around N1,600 to the dollar at the time, the two figures are close in value, though the government has not published a single reconciled account of the total commitment.
Keyamo used the Abuja gathering to highlight a safety milestone alongside the infrastructure plan. He said Nigeria recorded an Effective Implementation score of 91.45 per cent in the 2026 ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission, the country’s highest on record. That marks a sharp rise from the 70.12 per cent scored in the 2023 audit, and sits above the West African regional average of 61.1 per cent and the global average of 70.4 per cent, according to figures announced by the ministry.
The minister said the score should be treated as a new baseline rather than a finish line, and that safety and institutional performance still needed to improve. A higher ICAO rating carries practical weight, as it strengthens Nigeria’s standing with international airlines, aircraft lessors and financiers.
On the wider theme of the conference, Keyamo argued that Africa needed stronger air links between its own cities to give real effect to the Single African Air Transport Market and the African Continental Free Trade Area. He said flying between two African cities was often harder than flying off the continent, and that airport infrastructure would be central to closing that gap.
He also said the government was encouraging more private-sector participation in airport services while keeping safety and public-interest standards, and was supporting maintenance and overhaul capacity, aircraft leasing and cargo infrastructure as part of building an aviation economy.
What remains to be seen is whether the 22-month timeline holds and whether the finished terminal delivers the passenger experience the government has promised. Keyamo has said the project’s success should ultimately be judged by travellers themselves, through faster and smoother journeys once technologies such as biometrics and automation are deployed. Until the terminal reopens, those outcomes remain projections rather than results.