The Lagos State Government has announced plans to establish an airline for passenger operations just as the state prepares for the commencement of the construction of its own airport in the Lekki area of the state.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, disclosed the plan at the Lagos West Senatorial District People’s Town Hall Meeting in Lagos on Thursday, January 25, 2024.

A former Permanent Secretary and retired Auditor General for Local Government in Lagos, Muhammed Hassan, who threw the poser to Sanwo-Olu, said he believed the state was ripe to own an airline.

Responding, Sanwo-Olu noted that the plan had been in the pipeline for months, with the state already finalising the financing model for the project.

What is being considered, the governor said, is the federal government’s approval and operational contingency for the airline.

He said the input from the public was necessary to guide his government’s decision on planned programmes and interventions before their implementation.

Listing projects and interventions taken in Lagos West, Sanwo-Olu said his administration had completed and opened 42 new road projects and two flyovers in the District, with the combined length of the infrastructure spanning over 72 kilometres.

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He said the last four and half years had seen Lagos leaping forward in its socio-economic and development trajectory, but the governor said he was resolute in doubling his efforts to keep the State on the sustainable growth path as his second term progresses.

Sanwo-Olu said: “Over the last five months, Mr. Deputy Governor and I have been working to put a concise plan together for the establishment of an airline, but we did not make the plan open because of the need to get adequate knowledge about the operational procedures of airlines.

“The business plan is viable and there is no issue about financing. The conversation has gone to an advanced stage but we need to get the proper information on operations before we go ahead to implement the plan.

“In Lagos West Senatorial District, infrastructure development has been our priority since we came in. Over the last four years, we have completed over 70 kilometres of new roads and over two kilometres of bridges. These include Pen-Cinema Bridge, Ikeja Flyover, and over 42 roads we have completed in Alimosho, Ifako, Agege, Ikeja, Mushin, Amuwo Odofin, and  Badagry.

“We also have over 30 ongoing road projects which are at various stages of completion within this district.”

Sanwo-Olu assured Lagosians that his administration would be raising the pace of its development strides, as he pledged to double the efforts to deliver twice the number of projects and programmes achieved in his first term.

He urged the people of the state to be law-abiding and support measures introduced by the government to maintain law and order.

The governor said it would not be enough to enforce obedience to laws, adding that the government would ensure laws are fair and just to all.

The Star