Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, has said that the fire-ravaged old terminal of the Lagos International Airport on Monday will be demolished,
The minister, who inspected the level of destruction caused by the fire on Tuesday, told journalists that the fire was contained and that no life was lost.
He disclosed that the victims, who were hospitalized, are now responding to treatment at a health facility in Lagos.
He explained that the terminal, which was slated for refurbishment, will be pulled down and that a temporary terminal from where the few airlines operating from the facility will now operate has reached an advanced stage.
“It is not the new terminal that was affected; it is the terminal that we are about to pull down,” Keyamo said.
He explained that while the building had already been marked for redevelopment, the fire resulted in significant operational losses.
“I won’t say fortunately because there is nothing fortunate about fire. Even though we were preparing to pull down this old terminal, there was certain equipment we still needed to retrieve,” he said.
Keyamo disclosed that evacuation of personnel and agencies from the facility had already been underway before the incident and that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had concluded arrangements to relocate operators to a temporary terminal constructed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC).
According to him, the fire has only accelerated the relocation process. “Even before this fire, FAAN had made temporary arrangements to move most of the airlines and entities operating here to the temporary facility provided by CCECC. What has happened has only hastened the movement away from this building.”
The minister, however, expressed deep concern over the loss of vital aviation infrastructure, particularly meteorological and operational equipment located on the upper floors of the building.
“It is still not safe to go to the fifth, sixth and seventh floors. Our NiMet equipment and office are totally gone. Our air traffic controllers were trapped up there yesterday and many of them had to be rescued using a crane.
“Some of our equipment are badly damaged, but we just want to thank God that there was no single loss of life. That is the first gratitude we have to God.” Keyamo confirmed that clearance of debris would begin immediately to pave the way for reconstruction work.
According to the minister, engineers from the China Civil Engineering Construction Company are already on standby to commence work once the building is fully evacuated.
It will be recalled that the ravaging fire disrupted operations at the old terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Monday, triggering diversions, compounding travel delays and operational uncertainty across airlines.
GIK/APA