If feelers from government are anything to go by, Lagos,
the nation’s commercial capital will have a second international airport
under the four-year watch of in-coming governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
The in-coming government and the out-going one being of
the same party, are said to have commenced discussions with investors
after earlier efforts in the old dispensation in the last few years
failed to reach conclusion.
The airport is proposed to be developed on a modular basis
at an estimated project cost of N71.64bn ($450 million) in its first
phase.
“We’re having discussions with new investors showing
interest in the airport project. We’re nearing concluding a fresh deal,”
a ranking official of the state government told our correspondent,
adding that the state remained focused and determined to deliver on the
project. “Government is a continuum and in the case of Lagos, we do not
envisage any problem under Ambode”, the source pointed out.
Four rated firms are working with Lagos State as
consultants to the airport project. They include Arup, a firm of
consultant engineers, designers, planners and technical specialists;
Norton Rose Fulbright, a global legal firm with more than 3,800 lawyers
across 54 offices worldwide; Stanbic IBTC Capital, a member of Standard
Bank Group, one of Africa’s largest banking groups, which was appointed
sole financial adviser, as well as Banwo & Ighodalo, a
Nigerian-based legal firm.
With the current government set to hand over on May 29, Akinwunmi Ambode, the governor-elect,
and his team inheriting project, would be expected double the effort of
his predecessor in the pursuit of the realisation of the multi-billion
naira infrastructure.
A government official confirmed to
BusinessDay yesterday, that the bid to get the airport project off the
ground under Fashola slowed down because investors who initially showed
interest, developed cold feet and eventually withdrew from the deal,
forcing the government to return to the drawing board.
BusinessDay gathered that the investors
pulled out from the deal, citing inclement political and social
environment- thus forcing the state government and its consultants in
the project to begin the search for another set of interested investors.
The airport when completed, would bring
to two, the number of international airports in Nigeria’s commercial
capital. There is currently one federally owned airport in Lagos- the
Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), situated in Ikeja, the state capital. It
is the most used of all Nigeria’s international airports, but is ageing
and industry sources say it needs support, as the population of the
state and the volume of commerce have increased exponentially over the
years.
Ayo Gbeleyi, the Lagos State
commissioner for finance, had told BusinessDay during a pre-bid meeting
with representatives of the bidders two years ago, that the new Lekki
airport is to be delivered as a Public Private Partnership (PPP)
project.
According to Gbeleyi, the state
government is providing the land and other complementary infrastructure,
while the eventual preferred bidder with whom a concession agreement
would be signed, would undertake the construction of the airport on a
Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Manage (DBFOM) basis, under a
competitive tender process, and in accordance with international best
practice.
In 2011, as part of the competitive
tender process for the building of the airport, the government, through
the consultants, made available Request for Pre-Qualification (RFPQ),
with no less than 33 Nigerian and international firms indicating
interest to participate in the ambitious project.
The companies had earlier submitted
Expression of Interest (EOI), bidding for the project under a Public
Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, following a public notice
advertised by the state government to that effect.
Of the 33 firms, 20 were Nigeria- based.
They were to compete against 13 foreign companies, including Munich
Airport Germany, Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co Limited and
Canadian Commercial Corporation, among others.
In 2013, three infrastructure developing
consortia of firms, including Bouygues Batiment, Eko Global and Maevis,
were again in the race for the first round of bidding for the
development of the airport. Local and foreign representatives of the
bidders were in the state for the preliminary processes of the bidding
and held talks with the government and its team of consultants to the
project.
They also visited the site for physical
inspection to enable them have a first outlook of the area. The
preferred bidder was expected to be announced in April 2014, while the
signing of a concession agreement and project documents was to take
place in June 2014, with the financial close of deal expected in
September same year, but this was never realised.
JOSHUA BASSEY
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