I sit down with Wale Babalakin, the entrepreneur behind Nigeria's first privately operated airport terminal — MMA2, the domestic terminal at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos. Eighteen years after opening, MMA2 remains one of Africa's most significant examples of successful private airport concession — and the story of how it was built is as remarkable as the terminal itself.
Wale tells me how his company entered the bid as a reserve bidder, was eventually invited back after the original winner failed to satisfy government, and then took on the extraordinary challenge of redesigning and rebuilding the terminal from scratch — all within the original three-year schedule. Inspired by a visit to South Africa's newly completed domestic terminal, he rejected the government's original design, won ministerial approval for a bolder vision, and delivered on time.
Now, with Nigeria's aviation sector growing rapidly and a more investor-friendly policy environment in place, Wale Babalakin reflects on what it takes to build private infrastructure in Africa, why airports require long-term capital, and what role pension funds could play in unlocking the next wave of investment.
Key Quotes:
\"The best description we could get from the public was: these guys are crazy. Why are they putting their own money into public infrastructure?\"
\"You must design an airport so that traffic flows and congestion is avoided — because you are expecting heavy traffic.\"
\"You can't build an airport with three-year money or four-year money. It's not possible.\"
\"We don't need money from government. We don't need support from government other than policy-free implementation.\"
\"I believe this is the only way for any economy.\"
Tags / Keywords
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Chapters
00:00 — Introduction
00:24 — How the MMA2 concession was won
01:44 — Was it built from scratch?
02:38 — Scrapping the original design — the South Africa visit
03:02 — What kind of terminal did you want to build?
03:39 — Is this model replicable across Nigeria?
04:31 — Is the investment environment improving?
05:29 — What makes a successful airport terminal?
06:25 — Passenger and cargo volumes at MMA2
07:15 — The passenger experience — retail, catering, dwell time
09:03 — When did MMA2 become a valuable asset?
10:25 — The case for long-term capital and pension funds
10:48 — Is private airport development the way forward for Nigeria?
11:16 — Election risk — can these gains be protected?
12:19 — What does the future look like?
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","author_name":"Martine Dennis"}