MMA2: Long Walk to Reconciliation

Chinedu Eze

It was great relief last week when the federal government announced the reconciliation between it and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), which built and currently operating the private domestic terminal, known as MMA2.

Disagreement evolved after the concession of the domestic terminal (now known as MMA2), over the tenure of the concession, the extent of the concession in terms of territory and other operating conditions.

The impasse, which lasted for 20 years, imperilled what would have been peaceful relationship between the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the host government agency and BASL. The animosity kindled by the disagreement, woke up controversies and created tensed atmosphere that is inimical to amicable rapport that would have existed between FAAN and BASL as service providers. 

So, it was a respite when the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, announced the resolution on Thursday last week after the Federal Executive Council Meeting (FEC). 

Imbedded in the concession agreement was that BASL would build a hotel and conference centre in addition to building the domestic terminal, two projects being built by the company that were stopped at the thick of the controversy that led to endless litigations.

Addressing journalists after the FEC meeting, Keyamo disclosed that the concession was signed in 2003, and that after the agreement, BASL claimed that the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), now known as MMA1, was part of the concession, a position that was ruled in BASL favour by the Supreme Court and ordered that the facility should be handed over to it.

Court also ordered that the federal government should pay the company N132 billion plus interests for the use of GAT by FAAN, which the court argued had been generating revenue from the terminal. Keyamo, however, described the agreement as outrageous and wondered how the government of the time and FAAN endorsed it. The agreement also approved that BASL would have exclusive right to run airport around Lagos State, “which delayed the establishment of the airport at Lekki.” 

Keyamo said that the Tinubu administration requested that BASL should write off the N132 billion debts it claimed owed him by FAAN, relinquish the claim to GAT and the right of first refusal to any airport to be built in Lagos State, was also resolved.

On the other hand, the federal government made some concessions. One is that BASL will continue work on the hotel and conference centre and the projects would be completed in 24 months. BASL will complete and run it with government interest, noting that if completed the facilities will also be beneficial to government because they will be added to the aerotropolis plan of the government on the Lagos airport. 

Government also allowed BASL to operate regional flight service from MMA2 as much as the facility can accommodate and to help that plan to be actualised, government would expand the apron of the terminal so that it would accommodate more aircraft. 

Keyamo said that ideally the federal government ought to be earning revenue from the concession. So, henceforth, government would start earning from the concession. The reconciliation agreement is slated to be signed in Lagos, the minister disclosed. 

It has to be noted that before BASL reached agreement with government to build the airport, the domestic terminal that existed before it was gutted by fire making a new facility imperative. Since it was built and put into stream, the terminal has been very efficient, leading others operated by FAAN in terms of functionality, state-of-the art facility and efficient service. 

It is also a confirmation that the private sector is needed in the aviation industry to fund infrastructural development of the nation’s airports.

The facilities seen during facility tour of the terminal showed that it could efficiently handle regional operations because currently significant parts of the terminal are not in use for domestic service. This means that over the years, the facility has been underutilised. 

Head, Corporate Communications, MMA2, Ajoke Yinka-Olawuyi, told THISDAY that as Nigeria’s aviation sector enters a new phase, shaped by recent landmark settlements, attention is once again turning to Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2), not as a facility in need of reinvention, but as one whose long-established capabilities are finally aligned with the direction of policy and progress.

According to her, from its inception, MMA2 was designed to accommodate growth beyond domestic operations. Its layout, passenger flow architecture, and operational framework were built with scalability in mind, aligning with standards typically associated with regional travel, adding that this forward-looking approach positioned the terminal not just as a solution for immediate capacity needs, but as a long-term asset within Nigeria’s aviation ecosystem. 

“Yet, despite this built-in capability, MMA2 has largely operated within the domestic space, its broader potential shaped more by regulatory and structural constraints than by any limitation of infrastructure. The recent settlements now signal a shift. They represent more than policy adjustments; they offer a mechanism to unlock capacity that has long existed but remained underutilized.

“What makes MMA2 particularly significant at this stage is the minimal gap between authorization and execution. The terminal is not in a preparatory phase. Instead, it is effectively on standby, fully functional, operationally tested, and capable of transitioning into regional service with little to no delay once formal agreements are concluded,” she said.

Yinka-Olawuyi also observed that as the final details of the settlements were concluded, MMA2’s position would remain unchanged but increasingly relevant, prepared, capable, and waiting, remarking that when formal alignment is achieved, the transition is unlikely to be gradual. Instead, it will reflect a terminal stepping into a role it has long been built to perform.

Reviewing the development, industry analyst and the Executive Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), Olu Fidel Ohunayo, told THISDAY, “I am happy that with this agreement, the aesthetics around the MMA2 area, going towards the FAAN Quarters will now change, with that hotel, the first hotel coming online, linking to the car park and linking to the MMA2 terminal and the conference centre. So, there will be a bit of an activity there, and there might be a need to expand some of the routes that leads into FAAN Quarters and head office there. It is a win-win for all.”

 The Executive Secretary also said: “I also hope that we are going to work out modalities to ensure that there will be seamless transition of passengers from MM2 and GAT to the international airport, through the airside and not going through major road. We must be able to find a mode of transportation that would move on whether it is surface or underground or whatever mode that would take passengers safely without interrupting flights and aircraft movement on the airside to the international airport. That is key to bridge and to complement this new procedure.”

Ohunayo also commended the plan to extend the apron at MMA2 to take more flights, noting that once it takes more aircraft, there will be more flights, and with more flights, “you are sure that we are going to have more supply, more capacity, and this will be beneficial to all parties.”