Lagos State Govt set to float airline

Lagos State Govt set to float airline

The Lagos State Government says it is set to establish an airline to boost aviation operations in the country.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, disclosed this in Ikeja, during the Lagos West Senatorial District Town Hall Meeting.

Sanwo-Olu, who spoke on Thursday, said the idea of having a state-owned airport had been in deliberation for several months and is in the final stages of determining the financing model for the project.

“Over the last five months, the 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.”

Sanwo-Olu also said construction of the long-awaited 37km Fourth Mainland Bridge will begin by the end of March or April.

He said, “We’ve done extensive work on the bridge, but we are at the crossroads of where to get real financing for that kind of project. We need to be very creative, but thank God that we have reached the last point of the construction.

“Our commitment is that within this first quarter, meaning that by the end of March or April, we should break ground to start the construction of the Fourth Mainland Bridge.

“It is going to be built in phases; phase one will be from the junction at Abraham Adesanya to the waterfront that we have at Badore.

“I am using this opportunity to say that we have done extensive study, so we cannot get a new road without having to do a little bit of discomfort, but we will ensure that we will compensate everybody that their properties or businesses will be disturbed by this construction.”