The Federal Government through the Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika on Tuesday presented the official letter of approval for the proposed Lekki International Airport to Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Sirika presented the letter at the ongoing 9th Ehingbeti Lagos Economic Summit at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island.
The Summit which was under the theme “Charting the paths to sustainable socio-economic growth,” with a Development Plan 2052, has the ambition of transforming Lagos into Africa’s Model Mega City.
Development Plan 2052 plan is built around 4 strategic pillars – Thriving Economy, Human-centric City, Modern Infrastructure & Effective Governance – and focuses on 20 strategic areas that will drive the ambition.
Sirika noted that Lagos has the resources and exigencies for an additional airport which according to him would help decongest the Murtala International Airport.
In his opening address, Sanwo-Olu said, “For decades, Lagos State has been known as an economic powerhouse and a leading hub, not just in Nigeria, but the whole of Africa. Ehingbeti is a forum for all stakeholders in and outside of Lagos – citizens, businesses, governments, regulators, civil society, technocrats, academics, funders, donor community, and international partners – to exchange ideas, address potential developmental roadblocks and chart a path forward towards accelerating sustainable economic growth in Lagos State.
“The vision is always very critical, because it is the quality of the vision that determines the quality of the output. The output can never rise above the level of the thinking and the vision that informs it.
“In the several months leading up to this event, we have made concerted efforts towards the conceptualization and development of a comprehensive 30-year plan, the Lagos State
“Development Plan 2052, with the ambition of transforming Lagos into Africa’s Model Mega City. The Lagos State Development Plan 2052 plan is built around 4 strategic pillars – Thriving Economy, Human-centric City, Modern Infrastructure & Effective Governance – and focuses on 20 strategic areas that will drive this ambition.
“This long-term development plan has been meticulously devised to accommodate the best of all existing and prior high-level policy documents, transformation plans and development policies, including the THEMES Agenda.
“In line with the ongoing work to finetune the Lagos State Development Plan 2052, the focus of this year’s Ehingbeti Summit will be on the long-term sustainable socio-economic development of Lagos State.
“The implementation of this Development Plan requires purposeful and dedicated leadership. And our unwavering promise to you, as a State Government, is that we will provide the required leadership, to move from ideation to action, and to transform Lagos from Megacity to Model Megacity.
“As we look forward, Lagos State will continue to achieve its potential, which will be built on our resilience, our rich heritage of culture, innovation and entrepreneurship, and most importantly, our people. I am excited by what the LSDP 2052 has to offer our great State.
“I am also very much looking forward to the discussions and engagements over the course of the next two days; I have no doubt that rich and robust deliberations await us.”
