Bola Ahmed Tinubu Approves Second Abuja Airport Runway

President Bola Tinubu has approved the construction of a second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, marking the second presidential endorsement of the project and signalling renewed commitment by the Federal Government to strengthen Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure.

The approval comes as the government seeks alternative funding mechanisms outside the national budget to finance the ambitious project, which has faced significant cost escalations over the past decade and a half.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo made the announcement at the Nigeria Aircraft Acquisition and Investment Summit 2026 in Abuja. Speaking on the theme “Unlocking capital, confidence and capacity in Nigerian aviation,” Keyamo outlined the government’s development roadmap for the sector.

“A second runway has been approved by Mr President, and this is the first time I am saying it here today. We have secured the President’s approval to construct the runway,” Keyamo announced.

The minister directed his remarks toward the international investment community, signalling Nigeria’s openness to private sector participation in the project. He called on global financiers, aircraft lessors, original equipment manufacturers, development partners, and institutional investors to support the initiative.

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“To our global financiers, lessors, OEMs, development partners, and institutional investors, let me say this with clarity: Nigeria is ready. We have strengthened our compliance architecture. We have improved creditor assurance. We have demonstrated progress on revenue repatriation. We are supporting local MRO development,” Keyamo stated.

The project’s history reflects the challenges confronting Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure development. The Federal Government first unveiled plans to construct the second runway in April 2009, with an initial estimated cost of 64 billion naira. However, successive price reviews by Chinese contractors have driven costs dramatically higher, citing changing economic conditions.

By 2023, the contract sum had risen to 90 billion naira. By 2025, the amount had surged to 532 billion naira for the same project, representing an astronomical eight-fold increase from the original estimate. Confronted with these escalating costs, Keyamo rejected the contract sum and has yet to announce an acceptable amount for the project.

The proposed runway represents a significant infrastructure upgrade for the nation’s capital. Designed as a 4.5-kilometre facility capable of accommodating the world’s largest passenger aircraft including the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777, the runway would be 75 metres wide and equipped with Category III airfield lighting, making it suitable for operations in adverse weather conditions.

The project was originally championed by former Minister of Aviation Babatunde Omotoba and has remained on the development agenda through successive administrations. In January 2026, Keyamo exclusively disclosed to The PUNCH that President Tinubu had ordered him to source alternative funding mechanisms for the runway outside the traditional budgetary process.

The government’s pursuit of alternative funding reflects broader recognition that Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure development cannot rely solely on government budget allocations. Public-Private Partnership arrangements and innovative financing structures have become increasingly important to advancing critical infrastructure projects across the continent.

Keyamo emphasized that the government’s aviation agenda extends beyond infrastructure development. He highlighted systemic reforms including digital modernization, institutional strengthening, cargo modernization, and support for local maintenance, repair, and overhaul facilities.

“We are not only focused on infrastructure but also on broader systemic reforms. We are investing in digital and institutional reform. We are pursuing cargo modernisation. And we are doing so in one of Africa’s most consequential aviation markets,” Keyamo said.

Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Chris Najomo, highlighted the critical barriers preventing growth in Nigeria’s aviation sector. He identified aircraft acquisition as a primary constraint, noting that the capital-intensive nature of aircraft procurement has limited fleet expansion and modernization efforts.

“Aircraft acquisition remains highly capital-intensive, and without access to sustainable and affordable financing, fleet expansion and modernisation will continue to lag,” Najomo stated.

Najomo called for stronger legal and institutional frameworks to support aircraft financing mechanisms. He urged investors and financiers to develop innovative financing solutions tailored specifically to Nigeria’s unique operating environment and risk profile.

World Trade Organisation Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, speaking virtually at the summit, highlighted aviation’s critical role in global trade and supply chains. She noted that the movement of goods from production facilities to final consumers depends heavily on air transport capabilities.

However, Okonkwo-Iweala expressed concern that Africa’s aviation sector contributes marginally to global trade value chains. She pointed out that intra-African trade remains at just 16 percent, while the continent accounts for only about 3 percent of global trade despite its vast population and significant economic potential.

“Africa’s aviation sector has contributed only marginally to this value chain,” Okonjo-Iweala noted, emphasizing the untapped potential for aviation-driven economic growth across the continent.

She also highlighted a troubling trend in passenger traffic, noting a steady decline since 2014 attributable to multiple structural and operational challenges within the industry. This decline underscores the urgent need for infrastructure investment and capacity expansion to support economic growth and regional integration.

Okonjo-Iweala advocated Public-Private Partnership arrangements as a credible platform for aircraft acquisition and expansion initiatives. She emphasized that governments must view the aviation sector as an economic enabler rather than primarily as a source of government revenue.

“Public Private Partnership offers a credible platform for aircraft acquisition and expansion. Government must see the aviation sector as an enabler, rather than revenue generation for the country,” she stated.

The approval of the second runway at Abuja’s airport reflects the government’s recognition of aviation infrastructure as critical to Nigeria’s economic development and continental leadership. With the Lagos airport expansion underway, Keyamo indicated that the Abuja runway would be the next priority in the government’s aviation infrastructure agenda.

The success of alternative funding mechanisms for the Abuja runway project could establish a template for financing other critical infrastructure projects across Nigeria’s aviation sector and potentially serve as a model for other African nations seeking to modernize their aviation infrastructure.