By Femi Ogbonnikan
Following the first test flights on February 22, 2023, aviation industry players have been anxiously waiting for the commencement of full commercial operations at the Gateway Agro-Cargo International Airport, located in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State. The project which is sitting on about 5000 hectares of land and strategically located within the Lagos-Ibadan and the Sagamu-Benin Expressways is at the heart of the industrial transformation agenda of Governor Dapo Abiodun.
As the administration’s legacy project, preparation is progressively going towards an advanced stage of the commencement of full operations. Priority attention is also being given to construction work which is currently about 95 to 98 percent complete. But the authorities in charge are taking their time to follow the necessary steps that will lead to the full certification and licencing of the airport for safe operations.
The airport is one of the best in the West African sub-region by comparative standards. It has some outstanding facilities which make it a reference point among aviation players in Nigeria. For safety purposes, the airport is provided with a five-story control tower obtainable in similar airports in developed countries. It also has a runway that is 4 kilometres long and 60 metres wide which is equivalent to about 17 lanes of road infrastructure.
Arguably, that is the longest and largest runway in Nigeria and the West African sub-region. The size of the airport together with its runway was deliberately planned to accommodate flights coming in with wide-bodied aircraft like a Boeing 777 or A350. So, this is not just another airport, it is an airport with a difference. Its location within a special agricultural processing zone among the eight zones in the country makes its difference even more glaring.
Having put the necessary infrastructures in place, the airport is good to go for commercial flight operations. However, the slight delay in the commissioning of the project and commencement of full operations has been linked to the government’s desire to attain a new status of operation as opposed to what is common in the industry. When the approval processes are finally fulfilled, the airport will be the first to have an operating permit in Nigeria.
According to experts, the operating permit will enable the airport to attain the ENCAS 2023 permit which, they say, is more stringent than Aerodrome Certification. In other words, the airport has gone a notch higher in its strive for safety standards.
Recently, while conducting the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) on a tour of the facility, the Ogun State government shared the details of the developmental progress that had been recorded ahead of the commencement of commercial operations. It was jointly hosted by the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr Ade Akinsanya, Commissioner for Transportation, Engr Gbenga Dairo, the Airport Manager, Captain Dapo Olumide and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Hon Kayode Akinmade.
During the media interaction, Akinsanya rightly declared that the airport had the best facilities in Nigeria and the West African corridor with a runway capable of accommodating wide-bodied aircrafts.
He said: “While the total size of the airport is 5000 hectares, we started this first phase on 900 hectares. So, what you see as an open space is part of a master plan because this is also an aerotropolis. There are going to be hotels, amusement parks and Cinema in the future. That is all part of the master plan. You can’t put everything together in one day.
“Overall, where we are today, I am pretty certain that we are ready to go commercial. Once we get the approval from NCAA for commercial operation, we will commence. Right now, we have the approval for chartered flights.
“The runway has been completed for a long time. The fire station is done and you see the two fire tenders outside with a new addition making three. Right now, we are class six and with that additional fire tender, we are moving to class seven.”
The Airport Manager, Captain Olumide, on his part, disclosed that the airport, when fully operational, would be the first in Nigeria to operate with an operating permit. He explained that the slight delay in the commencement of full commercial operation was occasioned by procedural processes for the final approval of the relevant authorities for operating permit. Among other things, the operating permit will enhance safety standards.
“There are some people who have said, why is our airport taking so long, that an airport can be built in six months? What they don’t understand is that since the good old days of the FCAA, we have what they call an Aerodrome Certification.
“With ENCAS 2023, it has changed now to an operating permit, and there is a difference between an operating permit and an Aerodrome Certificate. Even with the old Aerodrome Certificate, how many airports in Nigeria comply?
“We are the first airport in Nigeria trying to attain the status of a full operating permit. It is that reason alone that this project is taking longer than it would have been, if we had opted for an Aerodrome Certificate,” he said.
Speaking in the same vein, the Commissioner for Transportation described the airport as a legacy project of Governor Abiodun, noting that the airport is situated within a special agricultural processing zone. Ogun State being one of the eight zones in the country, the Agro-Cargo airport will be of immense economic benefits to agric investors by way of enhancing agricultural value chain and export of produce for foreign exchange earnings.
Members of LAAC scored the airport an A-plus in terms of its designs and installations, affirming that the airport has the best facilities in the country at the moment.
The group’s Chairman, who is the Editor of the Aviation and Transport section of the Blueprint Newspaper, Suleiman Idris, after the on-the-spot assessment of the level of work on the airport project, commended the visionary leadership of Governor Abiodun. He affirms that the airport project is a futuristic initiative not only for the state but for the South West region of the country.
By projection, the airport will commence scheduled and non-scheduled flights any time from now. Earlier before the facility tour, Governor Abiodun had expressed optimism for the commencement of full commercial operations at the shortest possible time following the approval of non-scheduled flights. He gave the assurance at the 13th Gateway International Trade Fair breakfast meeting with chief executive officers, captains of industry, entrepreneurs, investors and other stakeholders, held at the Mitros Residences, GRA, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He explained that the approval process to get the airport running had reached an advanced stage, preparatory to the commencement of full operations. His words: “Our newly built Gateway International Airport will soon be commissioned. I believe as a matter of fact that the airport will get an approval to begin to operate non-scheduled flights, meaning that private planes can now fly flights and come to that airport, just like they go to any other airport.
“We will also get the approval for scheduled flights to begin to operate out of that airport.
“That means you can attend to your business, bring in raw materials by air into the state.”
With the administration’s commitment to complete the airport despite the challenges of the economic and the paucity of funds, the government has proved wrong the insinuation by some cynics who have dismissed the project as a white elephant project.
By the administration’s commitment to complete the money-gulping project in spite of its huge financial demands, Governor Abiodun has made a giant stride in fulfilling the dreams of his forebears. The multiplier effects of the airport will not only boost the state’s economy, but the entire country as a whole.
Already, some investor groups have signified their interests to tap into the economic opportunities that abound within the zone even while approval process is still ongoing. For instance, the state government had earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Arise Integrated Industrial Platform with an expectation of investment worth over $400m at the processing zone as well as the Olokola cluster. While others have equally signified interests in building warehouses, cargo companies have also applied to have their presence around the airport.
Similarly, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Nigerian Air Force (NAF) have requested for 100 acres of land to build their base and training school. By the time all these initiatives come into fruition, there will be an increased capacity for more job creation for the teeming unemployed youths. Governor Abiodun, while speaking ahead of the commissioning ceremony said: “The project will provide facilities for cargo processing, storage, warehouses and training centre, among others. This is an aerotropolis.
“It is not just an airport but one that adds value to services. The agro serving part is the most interesting. It is going to be a conglomeration of agro processing companies that take raw materials, turn them into finished goods.
“We will also have aggregation centres, storage facilities for agro produce so that the agro processing centres will not run out of raw materials. This is truly an international cargo airport. At the stage it is now, it is already attracting a lot of attention and investors.
“I don’t have any doubt that this airport, in the first instance, will generate over 25,000 to 30,000 jobs.
“Those that want to go into the hospitality business have applied to build hotels. We will also have demonstration farms that would be run through an out-grower scheme.”
He said the airport was designed to support Ogun state’s continued industrial and economic growth and further enhance air transport connectivity across Nigeria.
In terms of its benefits, it will open up business opportunities for both local and foreign investors, thereby enhancing the status of Ogun State as the industrial capital of the country. It will further serve as an impetus for attracting more investments. The strategic location of the airport as its unique selling point would equally drive its status as an aerotropolis.
One significant aspect of the airport is that it has six access locations, including Lagos-Sagamu, Lagos-Ibadan and Lagos-Epe. “I don’t think any airport can rival it anywhere within this country and the facility is unique,” Abiodun enthused.
Among other things, the airport will increase production as well as opportunities for farmers to produce and sell their products at a good price and in good time without any of the usual post harvest loss on transit that is associated with agricultural produce.
It will further boost the effort of the Abiodun administration towards creating a stable economy through the creation of an enabling busines environment to attract both local and foreign investors to the country.
Since the inception of the present administration, Ogun State government has been unrelenting in its pursuit of infrastructural amenities to create an enabling environment for industrial growth and improve the ease-of-doing-business. The Gateway Agro-Cargo Airport represents a standing signature of Governor Abiodun’s vision to make the state a preferred investment destination of choice and the fastest growing economy in the country.
Ogbonnikan writes from Abeokuta, Ogun State capital
