Nigeria uses subsidy savings to fund $500m Lagos airport rebuild

fuel subsidy removal aviation infrastructure Lagos airport reconstruction foreign reserves economic reforms

Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, announced that the removal of fuel and foreign exchange subsidies has enabled the government to raise approximately $500 million for the reconstruction of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and other critical aviation infrastructure.

Keyamo stated that these funds were not obtained through borrowing but were made possible by improved national liquidity and a significant rise in foreign reserves, which he noted grew from $3 billion to $56 billion under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The investment aims to modernize the Lagos airport terminal and includes runway rehabilitation projects in Kano, Port Harcourt, and Akure.

During the 67th anniversary of Aero Contractors, industry leaders like Captain Ado Sanusi urged continued strategic investment to prevent Nigerian aviation from losing competitiveness to neighboring countries. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele emphasized that healthcare investment must also be treated as essential economic infrastructure to drive long-term productivity and growth.